A World Reborn?
by Fire lord 626
Summary: Just as she thought her story has ended, a new world has emerged all thanks to a wish she has made. But will this be the happy ending she wanted? A sequel to BRS the Game. A Collaboration fic.
1. Chapter 1: The Awakenings to a new World

_Full credit to EternalCombOver as it was his fic that inspired this story and his contributor as editor and plot developer_

 **Chapter 1: The Awakenings to a new World**

Paradise. If such a thing existed, Stella was certain this was it. All the members of the PSS were enjoying what they called a 'barbecue', if Stella remembered correctly. Each one of them were having the time of their lives, free from any sense of worry. Phobos and Lars were busy enjoying a drinking contest, the otherwise calm and collected soldiers now filled with vigor. Marion and Alexei seemed to have taken part as well, though their rosy cheeks showed the alcohol already kicking into their systems, both of the older men looking rather content watching the younger ones go at it. Bob and Xiaoming were getting busy at the grill with DJ Dully making tunes with his equipment, his entire set up filling the area with the bombastic but strangely pleasant music she had begun to grow accustomed to. Instinctively, she brought a glass of lemonade to her mouth, taking a deep drink as she noticed Rothcol and Nana talking a slight distance away, both happily grinning wider than she'd ever seen. Paradise, it seemed, put a smile on everyone's face.

Despite how pleasant everything felt, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was...odd. Something told her that what she saw couldn't be real. But before Stella could delve deeper into her thoughts, a voice eliciting both joy and nostalgia stole her attention. "Stella… my sweet, sweet, little Stella. I'm so proud of what you've done. So proud of everything you and Nana have accomplished."

"Papa!" she yelled as turned and reached her gloved hand out to the air, expecting an embrace she had almost forgotten. As she stepped forwards, however, she found herself staggering across an icy plain, suddenly in the midst of heavy snowfall. As she regained her balance, Stella let out a gasp. The celebrating members of the PSS were pinned to the ground, multiple pieces of machinery tearing through their backs as their bodies were being buried by snow before her eyes. "… Nana!" she said, taking a step back. "Nana!" she called out again, hurriedly looking around.

A slight distance away under a rapidly darkening sky, Stella caught sight of the familiar black and orange hoodie huddled in the distance. She sprinted forwards without thinking, her only concern being Nana's safety. The ice underneath her gave way, but that only pushed her to run faster, her steps becoming small leaps as she closed the distance between them. She reached out her hand once more, ready to grab hold of Nana's shoulder.

She reached forwards, but once again caught nothing but thin air. Blinking twice, Stella grasped her hand slowly, the black glove covering it moving in perfect response to her thoughts. "… A dream," Stella said, the pale, blue-eyed girl forcing herself to sit up. Her spiked black twin tails hovered above her damaged black jacket and shorts, the white stripes and star logo almost burnt off entirely, though that was the least of her concerns as she began to look around. The wooden building and familiar bedroom she lay in told her that she was, in fact, back in Nana's bedroom. Aside from the fact that she had somehow ended up back in Siberia with Nana sleeping next to her, the fact that she had no recollection of getting there troubled her even more. Her last memories were of nothing but battle, and a few bits and pieces regarding the device known as World Maker and the strange pods around it that were still trying to connect themselves in her mind. Regardless, Stella was fine with slowly discovering what had happened, prepared to stroke Nana's head as she slept. She raised her hand, however, and paused at the sight of liquid staining her gloves. The byproduct of what must have been tears as she slept. She furrowed her brow, wiping them away before she returned her attention to Nana.

Now certain she was truly awake, Stella slowly adjusted to the chill surrounding her. As her senses became sharper upon waking, several questions came to mind. Why were she and Nana back in Siberia? Did that device called World Maker really grant her wish? Whatever happened to those pods, or those supposed clones of hers stored inside them?

No matter how hard she thought, Stella only found herself drawing blanks. Her thoughts were still hazy, so much to the point that she seemed to have stirred Nana from her slumber. She let her hand rest amidst the girl's relatively short silver hair, Nana's yellow eyes creaking open inch by inch as she seemed to be regaining her own focus. "… Stella?" Nana asked, propping herself up on one arm as Stella stopped stroking her hair. She blinked a few times, glancing around the room with visible confusion as she sat up. Stella took that time to examine Nana's apparel, and sure enough, she wore the same black and orange jacket she was used to seeing, with no visible damage done. "… How did we get back here? And what happened on the moon?"

"… I don't know either of those answers," Stella said. "But for now, it looks like we're both alright."

"Alright? Stella, we're clueless. How is that-" Nana began, but was silenced by a rumbling that shook the entire house. Both she and Stella flinched, turning their attention towards the shaking door. The sound of metallic clashing, glass breaking, and small explosions instantly put them on alert. "Armaments?!"

"Let's hope it's just them," Stella said, hurriedly getting to her feet. She held out her hand, and sure enough, a flash of blue light preceded the formation of an almost pitch-black blade, only the silver edge giving it any other form of coloration. "Stay close to me."

The duo nervously made their way out of the bedroom, their entrance to the small hallway that lead to the living room accompanied by the sound of glass shattering and objects smashing against the walls. Stella hurried forwards, forcing Nana to keep up with her in a jog before they stopped at the precipice of main hall, both taken aback at what they saw.

Blue and purple flames encircled one another, two girls who looked incredibly similar to Stella circling around each other back to back. The first girl, who had purple flames erupting from her left eye, looked almost exactly like Stella in terms of her physique, hairstyle, and even clothing to an extent, the most notable differences being the fact that like her flame, she had purple eyes, and instead of single belted shorts, she wore two white belts crossed over one another to hold somewhat more revealing short shorts. She spun quickly, small fangs in her mouth showing as she dragged a massive bladed lance through the floor, a trail of purple energy spewing up from the tip as she moved.

The purple-eyed girl spun on her heel with a wide swing, the barrel of her lance revealing the fact that the weapon was in fact some kind of cannon that instantly reminded Stella of her own weapon. Her opponent wore black and white shorts over black greaves that had white laces reminiscent of boots and a sleek black vest similar to Nana's, though it ended underneath her shoulders with nothing more than small straps, her arms covered by what seemed to be gauntlets. The girl's face and hair, practically identical to Stella's save for slightly less hair length and generally rougher features, were clearly exposed as she tore a massive black claymore out of the floor upon turning to face her opponent, the blue flames erupting from her eye accompanied by a crown of the same fire flaring wildly around her head.

Before Nana or Stella could move, the two massive weapons collided, a shockwave erupting from between the two and shaking the building once more, damaged furniture breaking down even further against the walls as pieces of the damaged roof came down. The clash was only temporary, as the crowned girl easily forced the massive lance upwards, a powerful blast leaving the cannon and tearing through the roof. Nana let out a gasp of shock, but Stella focused even more closely on the combat instead.

In the time the lance's shot flew up, the crowned girl managed to draw a massive black pistol with a seven-shot barrel holstered behind her back, firing off a series of shots with minimal aim in her opponent's direction. Thin streaks of blue energy tore through her opponent's legs and stomach, but the damage seemed to do little more than spur the girl into action as she stepped forwards, drawing a curved and serrated sword that highly resembled Stella's own Black Blade and moving to slice through her opponent's midsection. The crowned girl stepped back as her claymore dropped down, letting the momentum take her just of the blade's range. The fighters locked eyes, their flames flaring once more, before both lurched forwards.

The massive weapons collided once more, both fighters letting out an angry shout as they sent one another skidding backwards, bits and pieces of the walls cracking and deforming as they were bombarded by another powerful shockwave.

"They'll destroy the house at this rate!" Nana said, rushing forwards. She stopped between them, her hands raised.

Both combatants stopped in place, surprised at the newcomer's sudden appearance. "You...finally...awake?" asked the crowned girl as she slightly lowered her massive claymore.

"Way to state the obvious, genius, but we aren't done yet! Move aside!" said the other girl with a smirk as she slammed Nana aside with the blunt side of her sword, launching her back to where Stella stood. Reacting almost instantly, Stella managed to catch Nana before she even began falling, preventing any further harm.

As Nana steadied herself muttered a quick "Thanks," to Stella, she hurriedly drew her pistol, more determined to stop the fight from escalating any further.

But before Nana could do anything of the sort, her body was pulled back by a gloved hand as Stella herself rushed forward, getting between the two fighters as the girl with purple flames in her eye lunged at her opponent. The crowned girl gripped her weapon tightly, blue flames dancing around her body like some kind of aura as she stomped forwards and stooped low, delivering a powerful swing to counter her opponent's advance when a flash of light nearby caught both fighter's attention.

A sleek trail of blue fire followed Stella as she did a lightning fast midair corkscrew, her right hand now consumed by her signature weapon, the Rock Cannon, a large black cannon with claw-like contours focused around the barrel as her left hand held the Black Blade reversed. As her midair spin continued, she intercepted both attacks simultaneously, two impacts rocking her body. "So… heavy!" Stella grunted as both her arms were crushed against her body, the crowned girl's massive sword slammed against the Rock Cannon while the lance-like cannon of the other girl threatened to knock the Black Blade flying clean out of her grasp as it grinded against the weapon. Her left eye erupted with a surge of blue fire as she let out a grunt of effort, strength she hadn't expected to use so soon after waking back up coursing through her body.

A faint whiff of blue embers accompanied an almost untraceable spin sent both of Stella's assailants tumbling away from her. The crowned girl was sent into a roll from her almost crouched position, the Rock Cannon pushing her weapon away with enough force to drag her along as well. After rolling over her shoulder once and stopping in a hunched position with her sword serving as both a brace and shield, the crowned girl took aim at Stella with her large gun in response to the blade aimed in her direction. The other girl was just as unlucky, the Black Blade redirecting her attack while keeping most of her momentum, sending the massive lance-like cannon and its wielder careening towards a wall, though she managed to skid to a stop before colliding with it. Disoriented for barely a moment, she let out an annoyed grunt as she spun around and took aim at Stella with her weapon, energy beginning to charge in its barrel to match the Rock Cannon pointed at her, already prepared to fire.

"That's enough. We're not your enemies… but I won't let you destroy this place," declared Stella, standing directly between the two fighters.

As both strangers turned their gazes to Stella, neither of them could hide their surprise at the sight of blue flames emerging from Stella's left eye. The girl with the crown of blue flames slowly lowered her pistol, but kept her guard up with her claymore, whereas the purple-eyed girl started smiling in glee.

"Well, it's about time you two woke up. Sorry about the ruckus; Beast here was just raging about how I ate the last of those sweets called chocolates in the cabinet over there. Isn't that right, Beast?" said the purple-eyed girl with a smile. She lowered her giant lance cannon and holstered her sword, looking over at the girl she called 'Beast' as the flame in her eye dwindled to a barely noticeable level.

Beast slowly nodded, the flames surrounding her and her crown disappearing entirely. "Overreaction... our... apologies," she said as she lowered her claymore, letting it reside in the floor as the weapon's own weight seemed more than sufficient to drive most of the tip into the ground. She leaned back against it, using the weapon as a brace while the girl with purple eyes suddenly placed an arm over Stella's shoulder with a grin.

"So, I BRS," the purple-eyed girl said. The flame in Stella's eye vanished as she gave the girl a questioning look, getting a giggle out of her. "It's not that crazy a name, but it's sure confusing sometimes. Am I copying how she talks or am I introducing myself when I say it like that? Hmm… But hey, it's better than being called 'Beast' by a long shot, huh? I mean, that little pistol can't have too much range to it, right? Guess good names only like picking people with good Cannons," the girl continued as she leaned her face closer to Stella's. "I'm betting you must have a good name… oh, and I guess I could learn the name of the other sad sack over there. Can't blame her, though; I'd be sad too if I was that weak," she added, pointing at Nana with a smug grin plastered on her face that only grew at the sight of Nana's annoyance, a slight frown forming on her face.

"… My name's Stella, and that's Nana… my sister. Judging from your abilities, are you both...clones of Sing Love too?" asked Stella with some hesitation in her voice. As obvious as the flames seemed to make her observation, she was looking for more than just a simple answer from the duo.

"Fellow...Clones?" repeated Beast with astonishment on her face as the flames in her eye subsided.

"Of course, just as I had thought! Although, it seems you're a way more successful version than that failure over there," snickered IBRS as she made a glance at Nana, who could only clench her fists in resignation to that fact.

Tired of IBRS' insults, Stella pushed IBRS away and walked back to Nana. She placed her arm around Nana's waist, glaring back at IBRS almost threateningly. "Nana is my precious sister," Stella said. "She's special in things that even... Sing Love knows about."

"Stella..." Nana said, conflicting feelings rising up within her. Nana knew she always envied her sister's abilities, ever since Stella rescued her from LLWO. Whenever Stella stood up for her, it seemed more like pity than sisterhood. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but feel lucky to have a sister like Stella by her side despite everything she did to her so long ago. This feeling had become the dominant of the two as she spent time with her, and gave birth to a new desire. Nana knew she had to get stronger and change, for both herself and Stella's sake.

"Okay, okay, didn't mean to make you mad, Stella," IBRS said, taking a step back. Stella couldn't help but notice her hand trace the side of her jacket suspiciously close to the hilt of her curved blade, though she showed no signs of aggression. "And...sorry, Nana. It's only been me and Beast here, and we've been on edge since Mother tucked us in too tightly. She said we failed to meet her expectations and all that," remarked IBRS with a self-mocking smile. Beast herself could only grit her teeth to the bitter truth.

"... I know what she's like. Sing Love's heart is one that only desires satisfaction... like her 'game'. But I'm not like her, and neither is Nana. We won't abandon you," said Stella with a sympathizing smile, sincerity in her voice. As much as she wanted to deny it, she was a clone of Sing Love, and thus understood the being that called itself her 'Mother' to a fair extent. For she had discovered a sad truth hidden deep within her own fight with Sing Love. A sad truth that had only been hinted at by the memories of her Father, the late professor Gibson, explaining to her his own meetings with the alien before the war began. Knowing this, Stella, try as she might, couldn't convince herself to kill Sing Love at the end of their battle. Antagonistic as Sing Love had made herself out to be, Stella couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Sing Love had no Nana to steady her path like she did, and she could only imagine what would have happened to her had Nana not brought her to this very house when she had hit her lowest point.

Beast widened her eyes before muttering a single "Thank you." She gave a small but grateful smile whereas for IBRS...

"Well, aren't you a cute little angel? Thanks for the pep talk, Stella," said IBRS as she walked over and patted Stella's head, ruffling her hair a bit with a somewhat eager smile "At first I thought you two were just going to tag along, as lost as us or worse. Not that I would've minded, although I really dislike dead weight and all but at least one of you could fight and the other did… well, she talked more than Beast, though we still don't know if that's a bad thing. But enough about that! It looks like you two can give us all the answers we, and by 'we' I really mean 'I' since Beast over there doesn't seem to care much for, but like I was saying before, all the answers we need. Like why this world is now full of life different from humans, and no, not animals and plants, they don't count, I mean life that actually matters because it's advanced or whatever it's called to hide how discriminatory the classification is, oh, and you could also tell us why dear old Mother continued her cloning project, too."

Both Stella and Nana looked at each other oddly before turning back to a waiting IBRS who was smiling all the way. It took a few seconds before Stella spoke first with some hesitation "I'll start at the beginning. After beating Sing Love, we found you two in pods...and then, I found the World Maker managed to activate it, which resulted in me giving it a 'wish'."

Nana then continued with her eyes showing suspicion. "Then we awoke here, and found you two… but before I continue, what did you mean by 'continued'? Aren't you two Gray Clones as well?" she asked. Even from the start, Nana had already felt something was amiss. Sure, she may not have been born with perfect memory and at times, her memory failed even when she had met Stella. But the Gray could tell that the two in front of her were nothing like the other sisters she knew and lost back in the war with the Apostles. An even more prominent warning sign around the two was the amount of power both Beast and IBRS possessed, clearly evident that they were something else entirely.

IBRS' smile made a little twitch, but she quickly recovered as she spoke. "Well, Nana, of course we're Gray clones. It's just we are... oh, it's painful to remember. Beast and I, among the first deployed to battle the Aliens for humanity! It was horrible… so many girls gone mad at the start of fighting, so much destruction left in our wake when people went wild! We were among two of the first group that went against Mother and her forces when they launched their attack on Earth, but most of our unit went berserk. We were fighting for our lives against the Aliens and our own allies, struggling to stay alive… but it was too much. We were defeated and captured; I remember it so well. Beast had saved a girl, only to be stabbed through the back… and I, rushing over to save her, got careless and fell prey to Mother herself. Oh… I remember calling out to Beast, telling her to run away when she came so valiantly to protect me, the noble soul she is! But alas, the last thing I remember is watching her drop to her knees, that faithful blade her only support as I lost consciousness… It was so painful. So I figured that mayb-"

"Lies. With that amount of strength, there's no way the two of you part of the Grays and more importantly, were captured so easily. You yourself called me a weakling, even though the first generation of Gray Clones were almost all weaker than I am. In addition, Sing Love never descended to Earth herself… she let the Apostles and her Armaments do all the work for her," Nana said as she glared at both Beast and IBRS with caution in her eyes. "You two are something else entirely, aren't you?" she asked, about to aim her pistol at IBRS, though Stella stopped her hand before she could.

"Stella? Why are you stopping me? You've seen how dangerous they are!" said Nana, her eyes showing clear confusion at her sister's action. Of all people, Nana thought Stella would know not to lower their guard against anyone of such power.

"Nana, I'm sure IBRS has her reasons for lying. Besides, they're our sisters even if they weren't... made by Papa," said Stella, a sad look in her eyes as she recalled her beloved father. A gift from the late Professor, Stella's memory was more stable and still able to recall the precious times she had with him when she was little and he was alive. As she gave Nana a sad smile, she then said with her voice filled with nostalgia "We only have each other now."

Nana widened her eyes and nodded before quickly hugged Stella, surprising both IBRS and Beast, who immediately gave the purple-eyed girl a little glare while Stella herself slowly but happily hugged back. IBRS scoffed at Beast before letting out a sigh, a look of resignation on her face. "Alright, I get the point Nana. Me and Beast here will tell you the truth. Ask away, and Beast will tell you while I will fill in the details. By her telling, I mean she'll spit out some words and I'll craft the story from it. Think of her as memory cues and me as the speaker," IBRS said.

After ending the hug, Stella and Nana turned their attention to Beast, who cleared her throat before speaking, looking down at the floor more than anything else. "Me...IBRS...prototype clones...survivors...Failed project." She made a glance at IBRS who scratched the back of her head and started to explain in a bored tone.

"To put it in a nutshell, both Beast and I were part of an earlier attempt of Mother's 'daughter project'. However unlike your 'birth', she made us using her DNA mixed with the blood of the corpses of what was left of her race as well as the blood of her Apostles. So in your terms, I guess we wouldn't really be one of you, as we're only 'part' sisters… Is that a thing? I feel like there's some special way of saying that? Huh…" IBRS began. She gazed off a bit curiously before Nana cleared her throat, getting her attention again. "… Eh, it doesn't matter. But anyways, as you can see, we're the only ones left. And there were a lot… like… at least more than both hands' worth. But that isn't too important, because again, just two now. The rest either died from the start or were consumed by their own power and imploded. Think of how our Cannons charge, but happening inside of a person and then misfiring. Those were nasty scenes," she remarked.

Beast nodded before continuing with a sad smile "We both... kept... in pods." She then pointed to IBRS. "Maniac," she said before pointing to herself with a bitter look, "Monster." Both Gray sisters looked at Beast with sympathizing eyes before turning to IBRS for further explanation.

IBRS gave a shrug and continued with a slight frown "Simply put, our dear 'Mother' saw Beast here as too dangerous; an abomination, as she put it. As for her thoughts on yours truly... she found me a bit over the edge. Hyperactive, hyper violent, and I think she just didn't like how I spoke! So I guess she tucked us in to maybe improve eventually? Or did she put us there because she couldn't be bothered to kill us? I don't know... and I don't care. Not anymore." There was a hint of anger as IBRS finished her sentence. She then looked at her new sisters and continued with a less serious tone, a wry smile forming on her face. "But enough about our sorry lives! I mean, judging from how you look, you haven't been doing much better. So outside of us becoming a pity party, how about Beast and I tell you what else happened in the past six months?"

* * *

It was an unusually calming sensation, lingering on the border of consciousness. She had experienced this time and time again, so much so that even the slightest difference in the area around her became noticeable. But perhaps the most striking difference was how she had gotten here. She didn't remember waiting patiently and entering this state of her own accord; rather, she couldn't remember why she was immersed in liquid and not seated comfortably under the stars.

Thinking back as her long twin-tailed hair flowed in the dark liquid she was submerged in, her mind naturally turned to the most important matter at hand. The game she'd prepared so well had concluded… with her defeat. The memory of battle set her heart aflutter, her body practically tingling as the images of her opponent became clearer and clearer in her mind.

Stella Gray. Her lovely, exquisite daughter that put all the other failures to shame. Beautiful just like her, the mirrored image of her own perfection in every sense of the word, yet filled with such raw emotion that became most apparent in the thrill of battle. Raw emotion that showed the depths of pleasure, agony, hatred, arrogance, and perhaps the best of them all, pride. Those raw emotions, all reflected back at her when she fought her lovely Stella… those emotions she had let die with the human race so long ago. Or rather, that she let die with the humans who betrayed her, one man's face taking precedence among the rest.

Before she could delve deeper into her memories, however, the sounds of machinery working around her dragged her back to her senses, accompanied by an all too familiar voice. "It's time to wake up, Governor," the voice said, gruff and aged but filled with unwavering loyalty. The liquid around her body began to subside as she felt the device she was in slowly lift itself upwards, exposing her bare skin to the light.

Opening her eyes as the hissing of steam flooded her chamber, she let the foggy glass door rise up before she stepped out of the pod-like device, her bare feet touching down on a familiar black and white checkerboard floor that should have been far more damaged if memory served her correctly. Regardless, she glanced back at the device she was in and quickly recognized it, the naked reflection of her magenta eyes, pale skin, and white hair on the device labeled 'Sing Love' slowly retreating into one of the floor panels staring back at her. "… It's rare for me to enjoy beauty sleep, SAHA," Sing Love said as she turned away from the sinking pod. Her right eye suddenly sprouted magenta flames, a massive flare erupting upwards as a sudden heat wave evaporated any liquid left on her body. "You wouldn't interrupt me unless it was something interesting… right?"

"Of course, Governor," SAHA said, the dark skinned old man with short white dreads bowing his head. The flame in Sing Love's eye died down, though her eyebrow went up instead as she noticed SAHA's apparel, a butler outfit she didn't remember him wearing since decades past. "Much has happened since you went to sleep. It'd be best for you to wake up fully before I begin."

Taking SAHA's advice, Sing Love motioned for him to approach. The old gentleman wasted no time handing her a set of clothing he had at the ready, going so far as to assist in dressing her. Wearing a loose white dress with red flower symbols adorning it almost randomly, she sat down on an intricate white chair with obvious Victorian-Era detailing making up most of the back. A matching table rested at perfect arm's reach from her, complete with a saucer and filled teacup at the ready for her convenience. Crossing her legs as she took a drink, Sing Love took one look around and smirked. She was on Her Moon, seated at its pinnacle, the Moon Terrace, the checkerboard platform from which she ruled. She tapped one foot down on the floor, feeling the slight shock from impact, and smirked. "Now then, SAHA… am I to sleep here now, or will we get to the fun?" she asked.

"Fun? Governor, this is Oscar-winning entertainment!" an excited man's voice said.

Glancing towards the only stairway leading up to the Moon Terrace, Sing Love knew exactly who to expect, the man in question given away by both his dry tone and his choice of words. "MZMA… haven't you found a good place to die yet?" Sing Love teased as the red-haired man approached, clad in the black and red coat-like armor he usually wore, his left eye sealed shut by a black spine-like hairpiece. His right and left sides were asymmetrically clothed save for his jacket, with his right arm being much larger in a dark red gauntlet while his left arm had a more fitting orange glove, his boots sharing the reverse of the pattern.

"Looks like the Devil isn't done with this gun just yet," MZMA said as he scratched his head with a grin. "And even if he was, I'd cut him a deal… there's no way I'm missing out on this."

"Good. So you can die first, then we won't have to put up with you running your mouth all the time," a girlish voice said from above him. He and Sing Love both glanced up to see odd, black and pink triangular robots with bunny ears floating in a large upside down pyramid formation, with a short pink-haired girl wearing black boots, shorts, and a hoodie with matching pink bunny ears riding atop the group. She let out a small grunt as she hopped off the strange robots and descended to the ground, all of them quickly dispersing around the area as the girl pushed herself back up with the massive black and pink claws that served as her arms. "I say we send him out ASAP, Governor. What do ya think?"

"XNFE… while I appreciate your rare support, it's rude to interrupt a conversation with the Governor," MZMA said as he walked past her nonchalantly. XNFE frowned, and one of the robotic drones that carried her flew at the back of MZMA's head. The teen stepped aside and caught the machine, a grin on his face. "Now that's just being petty."

The sight of both Apostles bickering like that brought forth a feeling of nostalgia, though Sing Love certainly wouldn't consider it anything more than mildly pleasant. "Please, continue your banter, MZMA, XNFE," Sing Love said before taking a sip of her tea. Both Apostles snapped to attention, catching sight of a grin that sent a chill down their spines. "It's amusing enough for now… can you keep it up?"

"Ahaha, comedy isn't really my thing, Governor," MZMA said as he hurriedly kneeled down a slight distance from Sing Love, forcing a grin despite the budding sweat on his brow.

"He started it by… being him," XNFE said, her voice noticeably quieter as she kneeled next to MZMA, tugging on her hood so that the upper portion of her face was obscured.

Sing Love simply swirled the last of her tea in her cup before taking another drink, glancing at SAHA as he turned to the younger Apostles with a hint of annoyance beneath his usual stoic expression. He approached them both, glancing back to Sing Love for a moment with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged, letting SAHA know he could reprimand them as he pleased before he addressed the duo, a stern glare taking hold over his old features. "You've both enjoyed enough free time here… now that the Governor is awake, you're back on duty. Take a deployment of our more subtle forces and begin your reconnaissance of Earth, together," SAHA said.

"Eh? To-together?" XNFE asked, color draining from her face as she watched SAHA. He stood there unwavering, and she turned to MZMA, who let out a huge sigh as he hung his head low.

"I always hated 'kid' shows, but…" MZMA muttered. He slowly nodded, standing up as he finally locked eyes with SAHA. "Man's gotta do what a man's gotta do," he continued with a shrug. "Where we headed? Last I checked, 'Earth' had a lot of ground to cover."

"I'll inform you once you're both ready," SAHA said. "Try not to let your quarrels ruin the Governor's plans."

"… I'll do my best to put up with him," XNFE said as she also stood up. SAHA nodded, and with that, the two Apostles turned around and made their way towards the stairs of the Moon Terrace, neither of them wanting to make any more contact with the other unless they had to.

"We need reconnaissance? Hmm… then I've slept for much longer than I thought," Sing Love said before finishing the last of her tea. By the time she set it down, SAHA was already pouring her another cup. "SAHA, it's about time we got to that explanation, or I'll seriously consider more beauty sleep."

Finished pouring her another cup, SAHA nodded. "As you wish, Governor. The changes began almost immediately after your defeat six months ago at the hands of Stella Gray," SAHA began. "After she left your body with me, she and the other Gray called Nana headed to the core of World Maker. It was there she discovered…"

"… Oh yes, the failures. A monster and a maniac, stored away in convenient little pods so they'd stop being nuisances," Sing Love said, glancing at SAHA with a questioning expression. "Well, what did she do with them?"

"Nothing that I know of… before either pod could be opened, Stella used World Maker to grant her wish," SAHA said. "As I placed you into the healing pod, World Maker activated. I fear I was unable to hear Stella's wish, but as per usual, World Maker consumed both your palace and the Earth in a great flash of light. When I went to check on it, Stella, Nana, and both of the pods had vanished without a trace. And, as I'm sure you've noticed, Your Moon has been completely restored. But the most startling development is the abundance of life on Earth after all these years."

"Life?" Sing Love asked, a quizzical expression on her face. "… It's not humans again, is it?"

SAHA nodded. "Indeed… shortly after World Maker activated, portals began to open all over Earth. They unleashed beings that resembled humans to an uncanny degree, in terms of physical appearance and mindsets condoning violence and hierarchical systems, though they are all notably paler than usual and much more powerful, their bodies' strengths and durability capable of rivaling those of us Apostles. They even possess the ability to create and wield weapons similar to our own," he continued. "As weeks passed into months, these beings, who we dubbed Other Worlders, flooded the world and began making modifications to existing city ruins to suit their purposes. As they made changes to their environment, the other Apostles began waking from a deep sleep, each one resting in a healing pod just as you were."

"I'm aware of the Apostle's return. My interest lies with these Other Worlders," Sing Love said, hurrying SAHA along. "They've gone and formed little countries or nations, correct?" she asked. Despite not knowing exactly what Stella wished for, Sing Love had a feeling that it had come true in an unexpected manner. After all, Stella was, at her core, just like her. There were only so many things she'd wish for, given that she knew very well what Stella considered important. Her daughter wanted everything she wanted, both in the past and now.

"It's as you've said," SAHA confirmed. "Currently, Earth's been divided between four 'Rulers'. As you'd expect with such a system, they're at war with one another. After some time, our Armaments have managed to capture images of each 'Ruler'."

SAHA waved his arm at the air in front of Sing Love, four distinct images appearing in front of her, each revealing one of the 'Rulers'. Examining them with visible curiosity, her smile slowly grew after looking over each image. "Well… this may be quite an interesting diversion after all. They're all fine additions to the Game," she said. Sing Love nodded, and SAHA waved his hand once more, erasing the screens from existence. "What other information have we gathered on these newcomers?"

"At present, the war seems to be at a stalemate," SAHA said. "SZZU and CKRY were sent in advance to gather as much information on the Other Worlders as possible, and the Gray clones should they encounter them. The other Apostles followed suit, though MZMA and XNFE remained as 'defenses' during your slumber. I'll contact our Earth forces now."

With another wave of SAHA's hand, two larger monitors appeared in front of Sing Love. The first showed SZZU and CKRY in the shadow of a large building, both wearing massive hooded cloaks that obscured the majority of their bodies. On the other, however…

"M-MEFE, we've got a call…"

"… Can't you just let yourself run with the mood, LLWO?"

"Of course I can, but we've got work."

"Is that old fart more important than your fiancé?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then he can call back later, so shut up and enjoy-"

"Why am I not surprised," Sing Love began, her voice freezing MEFE and LLWO in place, "that in my absence, you two run away to play with each other? …Well? Are you enjoying it? Finally found something 'pleasing', MEFE? Can you unwind now, LLWO?"

"G-G-Governor…" MEFE and LLWO both said, the shock clear in their voice. There was a period of silence as Sing Love grinned at the two's complete lack of composure, before panicked voices clashed with one another.

"Umm, th-this is-!" LLWO began.

"We'll report in as soon as we get a chance!" MEFE said, the monitor suddenly going black. Sing Love chuckled as SAHA shook his head. Almost a complete minute passed before the second monitor came to life again, revealing MEFE and LLWO's face side by side, MEFE's black and purple witch hat slightly out of place while LLWO hurriedly fixed his silver hair so it didn't obscure his green eyes. "S-sorry about that, ahah… w-we're happy to see you awake again, Governor!"

"But I'd wager you'd be happier if I slept in about… oh, I don't know. An hour or two longer, hmm?" Sing Love asked with a tilt of her head.

"N-nonsense! You waking back up means the world to us," LLWO said, pushing MEFE slightly out of the screen as he gave as enthusiastic of a nod to the camera as he could. He cleared his throat slightly before speaking again, his composure quickly returning. "So, please forgive us for our delay… I'll do my best to make up for our lack of preparation."

"… I'll be sure to stay focused too," MEFE added as she fixed her hat. Sing Love giggled before she gave the duo a nod, getting them to relax slightly. SAHA cleared his throat, however, putting them at attention once more.

"You're aware this is more than a courtesy call, correct?" SAHA asked. "The Governor would like an update on the Earth… and on what you've been doing for these past months."

"Of course," LLWO said. "Where should I begin…? How much have you been told, Governor?"

"I'm aware of the Other Worlders, their war, and that they seem to be content getting nowhere fast," Sing Love said. She sighed as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as the slightest hint of annoyance reached her face. "Which can only mean everyone down there lacks initiative, is a weakling, or has no idea how to exterminate inferior opponents quickly. All loathsome qualities denoting a species warranting extermination, in order of least offensive to most."

"I agree, Governor. Fortunately, it seems that these Other Worlders are only afflicted by the first quality," LLWO said. "We've conducted extensive study of their kind in secrecy, moving from place to place as we gather information. After abducting a few of them and running some tests, I can safely say their average abilities are far beyond those of normal humans. Most of our mass produced Armaments failed to inflict significant damage to even the weakest of them, and the strongest we managed to capture held their ground against either MEFE or myself for a small period of time. Considering that their hierarchy is based primarily on strength, I'm convinced those we managed to capture were of unimportant rank, and thus, among the weaker of their kind."

"… So the weakest of them can outmatch our mass produced Armaments?" Sing Love asked.

"For the time being, Governor. The data I retrieved from those tests has already been put to good use," LLWO said. He took hold of the camera, lifting it up and spinning it around to reveal a massive window that revealed a factory-like complex, robotic arms hard at work creating the Apostles' usual color-coded Armaments, the current model appearing like some kind of purple winged dog. "We've already begun making adjustments to our existing designs so they can better combat these new arrivals. This is but one of many factories we've managed to begin operating."

"You're operating factories with four nations at war?" Sing Love asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"I can clarify that, Governor," SZZU said on the other screen, stepping forwards so her mouth was exposed underneath her large hood. Sing Love nodded, prompting SZZU to continue speaking. "While the majority of Earth's landmass is divided between four major powers, their intelligence network is nothing compared to the one utilized by the UEF during our invasion. They seem to rely on covering large amounts of landmass in an almost barbaric manner, choosing key cities as bases of operation and sharing information between them. In short, they lack any form of instantaneous long-range communication, and have large gaps between their major bases of operation, each with a size befitting of the individual in charge. Though this kind of infrastructure safeguards their cities, it leaves gaping holes in their surveillance. CKRY and I have rarely had to actively hide ourselves during our surveillance runs, meaning his speed was put to good use covering more land."

"As pragmatic as ever, SZZU. Are you hoping someone else comes to take their revenge on you?" Sing Love asked. SZZU gasped, getting a giggle from Sing Love. "Tell me, how did it feel, having Stella throw all of her raw emotions at you? Then, being pushed to the absolute brink fighting for your life against an onslaught without equal… exhilarating, wasn't it?"

"… It was more of an honor than my brother or I deserved, Governor. Yet it could not possibly feel the same unless it was the Governor's chosen once more," SZZU said. "If we were to achieve a similar scenario, I fear it would be lackluster in comparison."

"Of course it would. There's nothing quite like fighting my Stella," Sing Love said, her smile returning. She leaned forwards, a happy sigh escaping her lips. "But, let's not digress… so, the Other Worlders lack a proper infrastructure and communication network… they'll be taken unware, then. The humans had time to prepare, and they could only postpone their inevitable demise. I wonder how our new prey will fare? …LLWO, have you only managed to upgrade the Armaments?"

"They've been my primary focus, Governor," LLWO said. "However, like SZZU, there's a reason I'm not alone."

"At LLWO's suggestion, we both battled Other Worlders that managed to best some of the best of our previous Armaments," MEFE said. "We were easily victorious, but our weaponry placed us at a disadvantage. We were unable to effectively deal with the enemy, their durability much higher than what we were used to. Against multiple opponents, we'd have been at a severe disadvantage… so, I took the liberty of combining that data with all the information we recorded in our battles against the Gray-"

"Stella," Sing Love said, interrupting her. "We're all familiar with my beloved daughter on a personal level… there's no longer any need to beat around the bush. You may address her as Stella when referring to her. All of you."

"… It is an honor, Governor," the Apostles said in unison. Sing Love looked back at MEFE expectantly, prompting the purple-haired girl to continue.

"After combining the new information with everything we gathered while battling Stella, I've developed upgrades to all of our weaponry. Even for yours, Governor," MEFE said. "Of course, I haven't actually worked on your weapons myself… I've sent the plans to SAHA and allowed him to make the modifications himself. In fact, I've even sent him variable upgrades so you could choose which you liked! The other Apostles have gotten their upgrades already, so we're ready for action whenever you wish, Governor."

"That's right. We have a thousand new Armaments per factory, and that number is growing by the day," LLWO said.

"… In that case, it's good that I chose now of all times to wake," Sing Love said. "I do hate having to wait for months on end for something interesting to happen. SZZU, CKRY, relay geographical data to SAHA detailing the locations of all major bases held by the Other Worlders. SAHA, analyze that data and instruct the other six to take positions in groups of two so they can attack one territory each. Leave the strongest to us. That'll be all for now."

"As you wish, Governor," the Apostles said in unison. Sing Love waved her hand, dismissing both screens as she glanced to SAHA.

"I'll begin the preparations right away," he said with a bow. The older gentleman took his leave, Sing Love glancing up over the Moon Terrace to the Earth resting on the horizon.

"What a stage you've set, Stella. I'd thought the underdog act would suffice, but I should've known you wanted more satisfaction. After all, you're just like me," Sing Love said. She smiled widely, the flame in her eye seemingly flickering in anticipation. "I can already tell… this will be quite the game."

 **In the next Chapter: Our heroines and their new sisters find themselves meeting an ally? Or an enemy?**

 _And thus it begins, please leave any questions or request in the reviews._


	2. Chapter 2: Sisters

_Once again, full credit to EternalCombOver for his contributions in editing and plot developing_

 **Chapter 2: Sisters**

"I can't believe you two," Nana said, a fierce glare on her face as she looked upon the wreckage before her. A familiar black and orange motorcycle rested in front of her, though the majority of it was either bent out of shape or clearly broken in one way or another. "You weren't satisfied with ruining the house… you had to destroy my bike, too. But if even that wasn't enough," she continued, glancing at a strange black and silver aircraft that had its center crushed by a part of the house's roof, "you destroyed the only other vehicle too. A Brunhild… there were less than five of those in existence!"

"… Sorry," Beast said as she scratched the back of her head. She spoke the word, but the confusion on her face betrayed a lack of understanding as to why Nana seemed so angry with them.

"I mean, if it's annoying to look at them, we could change that too," IBRS suggested. Nana turned on her in an instant, practically fuming from her nostrils as she stared down the purple-eyed girl.

"The only thing you two can do for me is stay out of my way," Nana growled. "One of these can be saved… but not with hazards like you around. Go wait with Stella."

"Huh… should've saved you a chocolate too, I guess," IBRS said. Nana practically hissed, getting a giggle from her as she and Beast casually strolled out of the damaged garage.

"That… not necessary," Beast said with a glance at IBRS.

"Oh? So she gets to throw a tantrum and I don't? What's up with that?" IBRS asked as they re-entered the damaged living room. Stella rested underneath the hole in the roof, sitting on one of the few surviving chairs in what appeared to be some kind of meditation, though she subtly snapped to attention in response to IBRS and Beast's appearance. "Hey, Stella, do you think it's fair that Nana gets to scream and shout and be angry but we can't?"

"Nana, screaming and shouting?" Stella asked.

"We destroy… bike… Brunn… Brunihil…" Beast began, but stopped once she realized she couldn't say the second word.

"Nana said we destroyed her bike and something that was one of five of a kind, and started being mean," IBRS said. "Said we had to stay away… is she trying to get rid of us?"

"Get rid- no, Nana, wouldn't go that far," Stella said. "She might be angry if you destroyed what I think you did, but she doesn't hate you for it. It's like… your fight over chocolates. You don't hate each other, do you?"

"Me and Beast? No way!" IBRS said, putting her arm around Beast's shoulder. Beast gave her an odd look, but patted her on the back regardless. "See? We're like two pods stuck together. Well, we kind of were, but that only makes us even closer, right?"

"Not… enemies," Beast said.

"See? Nana's just a little angry," Stella said. IBRS and Beast separated almost immediately after hearing that, though Stella paid it little mind. "We're going to be together for a while… I'm happy you're both here. I hope you'll enjoy being with us as much as we enjoy having you."

"Aww, ain't that sweet of you, Stella," IBRS said, giddily hurrying over to her. Stella stood up with a smile in preparation for a handshake, but instead got her hair ruffled by the slightly taller girl. "You're just a joy to be around, you know? So much nicer than mean little Nana! I'd just eat you up… oh, but not like how Mother would. That'd be meaner still."

"… Thank you for that," Stella said as IBRS backed away with a huge smile. Her lingering arm was quickly shook by Beast, who gave her a smiling nod as well.

After almost an hour of working, Nana rejoined Stella and the others with a stern glare on her face. As she entered the living room, IBRS and Beast both looked on in awe as Stella seemed to be tuning the lance-like Rock Cannon IBRS used before, the blue flame in her left eye flickering with each movement of her hand, screens showing the schematics of her own weapons flashing in and out of existence before her eyes as she worked. "Nana, is something wrong?" Stella asked, her gloved hand reaching into one of the many openings in the side of the weapon she held and examining it.

"I've managed to salvage my bike… but there's the problem. It can only carry two of us," Nana said. The flame in Stella's eye died down as a metallic click rang through the air, a slight grin on her face as she handed IBRS her weapon once more. As the purple-eyed girl strapped her Rock Cannon back onto her arm, Stella turned her attention back to Nana. "… We'll need something that can carry all four or us, and preferably my bike as well. I was thinking we could investigate the ruins of the Draco if it's still there. Even if it isn't, Moscow had military bases… we can search that area as well. It won't be a long a ride on my bike."

"Hmm… but only two of us can go, then," Stella said. She crossed her arms, seemingly contemplating the situation as IBRS raised her Rock Cannon up and fired a shot through the hole in the roof. Nana flinched at the sudden action while Beast backed away, though Stella didn't seem disturbed in the slightest, merely glancing at the action with an approving nod.

"Stella, how'd you…? This thing's had a delay since I woke up, but now it's firing on demand!" IBRS said as she lowered the weapon, a huge smile on her face. "It would get worse when I was fighting too… c'mon, how'd you fix it? I need to know this stuff, especially when it comes to my stuff!"

"Your Cannon's main drive was knocked out of place," Stella said. "It's a little tough to explain, but basically, the delay came because all of the energy was being focused off center, so whenever you shot, you shot at the inner wall of your Cannon and the energy ricocheted around instead of flying straight out. Your accuracy would have been worse off too if I didn't fix it."

"… So I hit the drive, and it works again? Once it works, I can shoot until it has a problem, then I hit it and get to shoot more, right?" IBRS asked. Stella sighed.

"That only worked this time because something very heavy hit your drive before… if anything happens with your Cannon, let me know. I can take care of it for you," Stella said. "Although, since you seem so eager to shoot… why don't you go scavenge with Nana? She'll need protection out there, and it's a good chance for you to know her better."

Nana's eyes widened at Stella's suggestion. "Take her?! Stella, she might blow up everything we can use!" Nana protested.

"I have to go with the little mean one?" IBRS asked.

"We can't have you two treating each other like this all the time," Stella said, looking from Nana to IBRS. "Even if you started off on each other's bad sides, that doesn't mean you can't get to know each other now."

"Stella…" Nana said. She looked at her pleadingly, but Stella gave her the same determined look she had grown accustomed to. One that said she would not be swayed. With a sigh of resignation, she turned to IBRS, who also seemed a bit uncomfortable with this set-up. "… Alright. IBRS and I should be back before the end of the day. I'll try and keep her out of trouble."

"I'm counting on you to do the same for her," Stella said with a glance at IBRS.

"… Well, since I know what she is out of us four… yeah, I'll watch her," IBRS said. "It's a thank you for fixing my Cannon, and all that. Plus, maybe I can test it like you said… but I'll keep it under control, so I can do without the glare, please."

"Just making sure we were on the same page," Stella said. "Nana, Beast and I will see if there's anything else we can find in the area… Good luck."

"Same to you… IBRS, we're going," Nana said. The purple-eyed girl hurried after her as they made their way to the garage, leaving Stella and Beast in the destroyed living room together. Nana hopped on her bike, followed immediately by IBRS who sat rather awkwardly behind the small girl's frame. "... Have you ever ridden a bike before?"

"I still don't really know what a bike is, so… no," IBRS said. "Is there something special I need to do?"

"… You should hold onto me so you don't fall off," Nana said, revving her bike. IBRS did as instructed, a puzzled look on her face at the command before Nana suddenly took off, exiting the damaged garage and taking the duo straight into the frozen wasteland surrounding the house.

As Stella made a wave at the shrinking figures of her sisters and their bike moving towards the horizon, she turned around to see Beast reentering the garage and gazing at the Brunhild with curiosity. "... Stella... machine... flies?" she asked as she pointed at the unscathed wings armed with missiles.

Stella nodded with a nostalgic smile before answering "Yeah, this machine helped me and Nana a couple times. It's a shame we can't use it anymore." As Stella entered the cockpit's back seat and fondly stroked the controls, Beast averted her gaze at Stella and scratched her own cheek despite wearing the clawed gauntlets. But amazingly enough, there were no traces of a scar or any scratch mark.

"Sorry... messed up... will be... more careful," said Beast with a hint of nervousness to which Stella quickly shook her head and made a reassuring smile.

"It's fine, really. I'm not mad, it's just on-" She began when suddenly, Stella noticed something on the floor right beneath the controls. As she reached down to pick it up, Stella widened her eyes with surprise.

"Something... wrong?" asked Beast with a cautious frown as she looked into the cockpit to see Stella gazing at an old and faded photo. The picture showed 14 men wearing matching uniforms save for one who appeared to be their leader wearing a black hat.

Before Beast could ask further, Stella made a sad smile and answered the question "They were my friends. They woke me up and taught me a lot of things. About the Earth before the invasion, about protecting our allies, and even about themselves. Care to learn about them?"

Beast simply nodded as she sat on one of the wings and started listening. While Stella spoke, the two carefully dissembled the wings, mostly following Stella's instructions as she read the still intact manual found inside the Brunhild. As she began recalling her brief but memorable times with the PSS, a gentle smile appeared on her face. She recalled memories of her liking the words 'Tally Ho' after hearing it a couple of times from the PSS members, riding the bike they provided her with for Operation Piggy Ninja/Skyscraper Camper, the conversations she had with Rothcall, and even the story of the Polar Bear from Commander Marion.

As she paid attention to Stella's trip down memory lane however, Beast felt a sting in her heart which was not only painful, but familiar. For this feeling was perhaps, envy. Beast thought it was a given, as she carefully removed a missile from the wing. For despite everything that happened, Beast wanted to be accepted by her Mother. She wanted love, to have precious memories. But all she had was accursed power and strength that disgusted even Sing Love.

Despite the whirlwind of emotions in her head, Beast just continued keeping her 'mask' on. She also knew that even with this emotion roaring in her soul, she didn't hate Stella. Sure, she kept her guard up and tried her best to not anger Stella, but Beast is aware there is little to actually dislike her sister for. On the contrary, there is more to relate to her than to despise her. Realizing this, all Beast could do is wait and see how this relationship with her new sisters would turn out.

As Stella carried on about how she met and saved Nana a few times to even showing her dear sister the message Dr. Gibson left for her, she finally began recalling her battle with Sing Love to which, Beast, without hesitation, asked with a sense of urgency and uneasiness in her tone "Mother... what... was... she like?"

Stella was quiet for a few seconds before looking at Beast with serious eyes and answered "She only cared about that so-called 'game' of hers, like it was the only thing that made her life worth anything. She didn't even care if either of us lived, since she feels that we are one and the same." As Stella said that last part, she clenched her gloved fists.

Beast could only nod in agreement before saying with a solemn voice "Mother... view... can understand... Stella... similar... to Mother."

Stella could only look away before saying "I can understand her. But even so, I'm not like her. I won't become anything she was."

Beast could sense the deep conflicting emotions within Stella and simply continued her work on the Brunhild as Stella did the same after a moment of silence. Deep in her heart, Stella knew she was contradicting herself and she hated it. On one hand, she herself told Sing Love that she was different from her. Yet as she was Sing Love's clone, she was similar to her in other aspects such as her powers, her skills, even her passion during combat. With these thoughts lingering in the back of her mind, Stella knew that she would have to confront these feelings soon enough.

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

"Ouchies, now I can see why Stella didn't want to tag along for this. These bikes aren't known for comfortable riding, aren't they?" Complained IBRS as she and Nana got off the latter's bike which parked in front of the ruins of what appeared to be a triangular airship. After over six months of endless winter, the once huge vehicle used by the PSS is now barely recognizable with its entire inner workings scattered all over the place. its weapons and engines beyond usable as they were either destroyed by the cold or exploded when it crashed. "So, what was the name of this flying machine again?" asked IBRS with curious eyes.

"The Draco, as Stella once told me. Come on, there has to be something we can use to get out of this snow filled country," answered Nana as she started looking around with IBRS doing the same, but with less enthusiasm. As the two clones ventured deeper inside, IBRS noticed something odd.

"Say, aren't those humans? Or at least what's left of them anyway," IBRS remarked. Nana was surprised and quickly ran to where IBRS was pointing to see about 11 bodies with still some flesh left on their bones. As she gazed over each corpse, Nana suddenly started laughing with a self-mocking smile. IBRS simply tilted her head and made a half-smile on her face. "What? Is it that funny to see dead humans?" she asked.

Nana stopped laughing but kept her smile. "They never knew, did they?" she began. "That the last woman they were hoping to find was a Gray clone. They thought that with me, the human race could be saved and so risked their lives in order to vent their sexual drives after so long. What a joke it would have been, right?"

IBRS scoffed. "Well, what do I know?" she asked.

Nana dropped the smile, but not the attitude. "And yet here I am, still alive even after all I did to Stella," she continued. "She even showed me that Papa loved me, that he was the one who named me. Even after all that, how could I deserve to be her older sister?" She began cradling her own head, various thoughts now circling around in her mind as she started taking deep breaths, sweat forming on her forehead and the back of her neck. "I was nasty to her, I used her to save my own life! And yet, how could she still care for me!? How can she continue to trust me for everything!? I am nothing but a burden to her! What 'special'!? Who knows if I would betray Stella again!? I don't dese-!?"

Before she could continue, Nana's body was lifted in the air by IBRS. She headbutted Nana, knocking her to the ground without so much as a word. Shaken and a disoriented from the sudden hit, Nana could only caress her swollen forehead. "What was that for!?" Nana asked.

IBRS clicked her tongue and walked deeper into the wreckage saying "To give you a wake up call. Remember what our dear Stella said, you are special...even compared to dear mother. So unless you want to prove to me that you really are a weakling as I thought, get a grip."

Nana glared at IBRS but was silent for awhile before getting back to her feet, muttering "Sorry about that."

IBRS made a sly smirk. "You can owe me later. Now, lets find us a carriage."

As they explored deeper and deeper into the snow-buried ruins, something caught Nana's and IBRS's eyes. Buried under several pieces of metal was a huge black mobile trailer with its bulk damaged all over, though most of it seemed superficial. Nana entered the vehicle after she and IBRs removed the rubble, and found to her joy that not only could it house the sisters and her bike, but the engine worked too. As she got out, she started explaining with hope in her eyes "The trailer is able to drive, but we still need parts and tools to repair it. And if this world is now full of danger again, we'll need more firepower." Nana then turned the trailer's engine off and grabbed IBRS's hand. "Come on, we're heading to Moscow. Hope you can enjoy a 3 hour ride."

"Dammit, and just when my butt stopped feeling sore," muttered IBRS as she sat behind Nana, the latter starting the engine up once more. They then left the Draco behind, the engine's loud roar the last trace of their presence.

When the bike started entered a range of snowy hills, they heard the sound of gunfire not too far away accompanied by a trail of smoke from the same direction. "It's probably from the Other Worlders you and Beast mentioned earlier. Lets see if we can find out more about them," decided Nana as she turned the bike towards the smoke trail. IBRS remained quiet as she started hanging on tightly, hoping not to be flung off.

Once they were close enough to smell the smoke, Nana stopped the bike behind a huge hill and turned the engine off. She and IBRS quickly got off and ran up to the top to see where the source of gunfire and smoke was only to witness a truly horrible sight.

The once pure white snow was littered with smoky remains of weapons and several fresh corpses, clear signs of the battle's recent conclusion. But before either clone could say anything, Nana heard a rough cough. She raced down the hill to the source of it whereas IBRS took her time walking down, analyzing the scene before her with a cold look in her eyes.

Nana soon found a pale girl with her body partially covered in snow, indicating that she has been here for awhile. The girl wore a black and white stripped shirt with matching pants and boots. Her shirt was wet with what appeared to be blood, though Nana wasn't sure since it was black. As she supported the girl's head, Nana checked the girl's pulse and sighed with relief as she said "She's still alive. But we need to treat her quickly." She then wiped the blood off the girl's mouth and started unbuttoning the shirt, determined to find the wound.

IBRS suddenly started talking, but not about the girl. "Looks like these losers were caught in a sneaky trap. With all these ugly bodies everywhere, it must have been a massacre on both sides, huh? But, seems like the winners got their prize and went off with the losers' rides. See how the tire tracks join up with those from the other side of this wasteland?" she remarked.

Her analysis was ignored as Nana was busy unbuttoning the shirt, not even bothering to respond. As she finished the task and looked at the wound however, she fell silent. Just then, the girl suddenly coughed weakly and woke up. "W-what happened...where am I?" the girl asked.

"You're safe now. What happened here?" Nana asked with a calm face, but IBRS noticed the Gray clone tremble for a second as she approached her. Once there, she slightly frowned and averted her gaze. Unknown to the girl, her unbuttoned shirt revealed a massive gnash where her left hip used to be as well as bullet wounds in her chest. It was a miracle that she was still breathing.

The girl coughed up more black blood and panted before answering with deep breaths, her brown eyes alternating from fully open to half opened. "Caught in ambush...stole our cargo...strange weapons...was going...to sell them," she said, raising a bloody hand to grab Nana's arm with effort. "How...bad is it?"

Nana made a forced half-smile as she held the girl's hand tightly. "Could you tell us your name and where you're from?" Nana asked. The girl smiled and was about to say something in return, but her eyes lost their light. Her hand went limp, and her head fell to the side.

Nana gently placed the girl's head on the snow, her fake smile fading away as she closed her eyes. After a moment of silence, she punched the snow in frustration.

IBRS yawned and looked at Nana with a bored expression. "Can we get going already?" she asked. "These corpses have no value and even I hate this freezing cold. Ah, I so wish we can enjoy a nice hot ba-" she continued, but IBRS's statement was halted when she was suddenly tackled to the ground by a glaring Nana. The rage in her eyes was clear, but IBRS just made a sly smile in response. "Oh? Did I touch a nerve there?"

"What's wrong with you?! Don't you feel anything for these people!? You're just like her, aren't you?! Caring about nothing but your own wants and anything else that interests you!" Nana yelled as she shoved IBRS' head deeper into the snow.

"It's getting chilly down here," IBRS said. She made a shaking motion with her head. "And it tastes funny, too."

"You aren't even listening, are you?!" Nana asked. "Like mother, like daughter, right? You probably see Stella as nothing but a new toy for your own entertainment, don't you!? Even though Stella trusts you, I just know you'll make her suffer!" she yelled, pushing IBRS's head deeper into the snow before getting up and dusting herself off. As she saw IBRS sitting up and shaking the snow off of her head, Nana clicked her tongue and offered her a hand.

IBRS chuckled before asking "First you push me down, now you help me up? You're quite the barrel of laughs." Despite her taunting, she took Nana's hand and stood up before ridding the last of the snow on her hair. "So are you done with your preaching, or are we getting to the juicy part?"

Nana frowned and looked at IBRS with clear irritation before asking "And what's that supposed to mean?"

The girl in question responded with a cruel smile. "It takes one to know one, and I know that you know what I mean," IBRS began. "You were like that once, weren't you? You said it yourself. You betrayed dear Stella to save yourself, to get some sense of peace. I get it, really... something so strange comes into your life, things get too noisy all of a sudden. So you deal with them... that's what you thought, right? I know you did. And yet you're saying I'm dangerous? Are you sure you aren't talking about the person you're trying to cover up? Trying to redeem yourself by playing the older sister? It looks kind of interesting, but you and I know the truth. You're scared that you won't be able to change."

Nana couldn't say a word, only able to glare back at the girl as she spoke. She felt her fists clench, and for a moment, almost thought they'd fight then and there. However, IBRS' tone suddenly changed, the purple-eyed girl suddenly shrugging nonchalantly. "Ya know, I think I turned out pretty good. Strong, cool, and a great sense of humor... I mean, if anything, you could gain a few things by just letting loose some. Oh, but you were also right about a few things in your little tantrum. Stella does look fun to hang with, and super convenient to have around too. Plus, I can be a little rough with her because she might be as tough as I am! And besides," she continued as she pointed to Nana, "You can't say you failed to change if you never tried, right? Although, you probably could stand to lose that sulkiness... you ruin the mood fast enough already without falling over and almost crying randomly. It's not even all that interesting to listen to, really... or are you actually hunting for pity when you do that?"

Nana stopped, her expression all but dying before she let out an exasperated sigh. "... I don't know what I was hoping for, talking to you like this," she said. "Your advice is terrible, but I guess I can be a bit... emotional. I'll work on that... if you promise to not hurt Stella, and listen to your big sisters."

IBRS made a curtsy with a smug smile. "As you wish, Nanny Nana," she said. Nana huffed, but took what she could before continuing their journey.

* * *

Back on the Moon, Sing Love had begun her own preparations. Now clad in her usual attire, an open hoodie and shorts that held gave her an uncannily similar appearance to Stella's own, though her clothing was white with black detailing instead. She had long since left the Moon Terrace behind, now standing atop one of the many fragmented portions of Her Moon, seemingly in contemplation. "… SAHA, is it ready?" she asked after a period of silence.

"It'll be here any second, Governor," SAHA said, the old man floating a good distance behind her. He had long since returned to his usual battle suit, a large metal exoskeleton that housed multiple thrusters all around it and two massive missile launchers over his shoulders. His head and torso were completely exposed, but the suit more than made up for it with titanic arms and legs that protected his own, each covered in sharp spikes that made them look as menacing as they were. "One of the Reapers will be here to conduct your weapons check."

As if on cue, a black and green Armament floated up over the edge of the lunar fragment they stood on, a strange black machine that was slightly smaller than SAHA's suit with a visor-like head that glowed a bright green along with the strange circuitry lining its body. A metallic scythe with a glowing green blade rested in its large arms, the machine already prepared for combat as it approached Sing Love. "This is my opponent? Hmm… it should do," Sing Love said. She reached for her waist, resting her hand on a slender but thick metal sword that was completely white. "Begin the test, SAHA."

"Testing begins now," SAHA said, a small screen popping up in front of him. At that, the Reaper Armament picked up speed immensely, darting to Sing Love as it prepared to attack. Sing Love simply stood there, expressionless as the large machine came her way.

The Reaper pulled up just in range of Sing Love, turning its entire body at once for a powerful sweeping slash. Its scythe was almost sent flying out of its hands as Sing Love drew her sword, the slash more than enough to deflect the attack. As the Reaper struggled to catch its scythe, Sing Love seemed to vanish amidst the dust its attack kicked up. When it turned back towards her, she was nowhere to be seen. "White Blade, check," Sing Love said as she sheathed her sword. The Reaper turned towards her voice, but almost fell down in a spiral as it moved, a massive cut through its midsection throwing it off balance.

"No signs of damage or dulling, Governor," SAHA noted.

"Next, the White Scythe," Sing Love said, holding out her right hand to her side. A surge of red flames erupted from her eye, accompanied by a white light in her hand. Once they both died down, she turned around to face the damaged Reaper, a large scythe that was almost larger than her entire body held lazily in her right hand, its jagged magenta tinted blade hovering near the ground. The Reaper managed to regain its balance, once again charging towards Sing Love. The visor-like head began to glow even more brightly before it opened, revealing a cannon that unleashed an energy beam almost instantly.

Sing Love raised her scythe and held the blunt side towards the incoming beam, letting the attack break against the large blade and pass harmlessly around her. The Reaper kept up the barrage, this time lowering its weapon for a different angle of attack. Once she got a good view of her opponent, Sing Love rushed forwards. She bypassed the Reaper's beam before leaping forwards, her scythe still smoking as she prepared to strike. Before the Reaper could even strike, Sing Love cleaved its left arm off in one swift motion, the sound of metal being ripped apart filing the air as the Reaper spun out of control, the beam of energy stopping just as it hit the ground. "White Scythe, check," Sing Love said as she twirled her weapon around before returning it to its original position at her side.

"No damage, no dulling, energy charge is stable," SAHA said. "Finally, we have-"

"I know this one works," Sing Love said, a slight grin reaching her face as she turned towards the downed Reaper. It tried to push itself back up as a white light consumed both her weapon and her arm, finally dissipating to reveal a Rock Cannon that looked practically identical to Stella's, though it had her white and magenta color scheme as opposed to Stella's black and blue. "But, for formality's sake…" she continued, red energy charging in the massive barrel as the Reaper managed to rest on its one good arm. It turned to face her just in time to see her weapon discharge, a massive ball of red energy rocketing forwards.

The entire fragment of the lunar surface they stood on shook as Sing Love's last attack detonated, kicking up a massive dust cloud as chunks of metal floated into space. "White Rock Cannon, check," Sing Love said, a final white flash consuming her arm before the large weapon vanished. SAHA floated over to her, the monitor in front of his chest vanishing. "No errors, of course."

"Correct, Governor," SAHA said. "Your weapons are in fine form… now, perhaps we should test the new weapons MEFE designed for you. As she said, your equipment was given special attention."

"I imagine mine is the only equipment worthy of it," Sing Love said. "Show me what she's made." SAHA nodded, a large screen appearing in front of Sing Love. Numerous weapons appeared in front of her, and she spent a few moments browsing through them before reaching out to touch one, that weapon's image taking up the bulk of the screen. "White Reach?" she asked as she examined what appeared to be some kind of whip that had various magenta spikes protruding from it.

"Hmm… MEFE said this one might catch your eye," SAHA said with a grin. "It's already been placed among your weapon rack… why don't you try it out?" he suggested as the screen vanished.

"… Very well. White Reach," Sing Love said, holding her hand out. As she expected, a thick handle appeared followed by a slender elastic material that seemed to be protected by the spikes she saw, each one seemingly pulsing. "There's a reaction already… an energy core?"

"Multiple individual ones for precision control," SAHA said. "While this weapon is in the form of a whip, it may be more accurate to call this an extension of yourself. Like your White Scythe, you'll find feeding it your own energy will allow this to do much more than serve as a simple whip."

"Let's try it out, then," Sing Love said as she walked forwards, randomly flicking the whip around. It tore through pieces of the lunar surface with ease as Sing Love stopped, letting the weapon fall to the side. "SAHA, attack me. I'd like a half-decent opponent for judging whether or not this weapon is worth my time."

"It would be my honor, Governor," SAHA said. He bowed to her once before suddenly throwing out two punches at the air in front of him. He let out a low grunt as his large suit moved with him, preparing to battle as he took on a fighting stance. "Here I come!"

The magenta flame in Sing Love's eye sparked to life as she suddenly spun around and whipped the area in front of her, the metallic spikes of her whip glowing immensely before they let out small explosions upon contact with the ground. The sudden smokescreen she created meant little to SAHA, his massive armor plowing through it with ease.

Sing Love had vanished once SAHA was through, but he knew what to expect. He stooped low before throwing a powerful uppercut, his suit's fist becoming entangled by the White Reach. Sing Love was falling towards him, but he caught hold of her weapon and yanked downwards. Dragged by such immense strength, Sing Love didn't resist the pull. She let it carry her as she flipped around in midair, getting her feet down so her landing on the lunar surface wasn't going to be a crash. Digging in deep on the initial impact, a light hop along with SAHA's continued pulling put her into a slide around him. "You can do better than this, SAHA," Sing Love said.

With a smirk, she leapt towards SAHA while pulling back on the White Reach. Though SAHA barely moved, she managed to propel herself straight at him. With the threat of a boot to the face flying right at him, SAHA let go of her weapon and raised one of his arms, letting Sing Love slam into that instead. The impact was far stronger than it should have been, the hit pushing SAHA's arm almost against his torso as Sing Love withdrew the White Reach, pulling it up into the air to begin her assault. "Not yet!" SAHA said as he flipped backwards and flailed his arm.

Forced to leap into the air or be slammed into the ground, Sing Love jumped up once more, watching as SAHA quickly regained his normal footing. As she reached the apex of her jump, SAHA dug his suit's feet into the ground as the launchers over his shoulders distanced themselves from the rest of the suit, every barrel opening up to reveal numerous missiles at the ready. He let out a battle cry as his suit unleashed a barrage of missiles, all flying in a strained arc towards Sing Love.

"That's more like it," Sing Love said as she licked her lips. She closed her eyes, feeling her energy flow through her whip as it trailed after her. Once the missiles neared, she opened them once more, the flame in her eye flaring as she began wildly swinging. White Reach danced through the air, leaving visible magenta streaks as she fell that tore through and detonated any missile heading her way. As the sound of explosions quickly died down, Sing Love made one final sweep that dispelled any smoke around her and revealing SAHA's second charge towards her.

A giant spiked knee was headed right for her, but Sing Love simply spun around in the air and let the attack pass by her. SAHA didn't simply stop, however, turning around from his knee to try and deliver a massive elbow to her side. With a flick of her wrist, Sing Love got White Reach to form a rigid interlocked curled shield between her and the attack, SAHA's elbow only succeeding in sending Sing Love a bit off to the side, the white-haired girl flipping over with a smile and managing to land on both feet. She looked up to where SAHA was, and chuckled upon seeing he had disappeared. She tilted her head to the side and aimed the White Reach over her shoulder, its shield formation unwinding with enough force to launch it backwards in a strange arc.

SAHA held his breath as the White Reach passed right by his face, digging into part of his battle suit as the spikes on it began to glow immensely during his attempted punch to Sing Love's back. "While I would like to see how much damage detonating them like this could do," Sing Love said as she glanced back at SAHA, who had stopped moving, "I can't afford to put you out of commission already," she continued, pulling the handle back and letting the White Reach fall to the floor in front of her, its spikes losing their glow.

"You should thank MEFE for such a fine piece of work," SAHA said. "I'll admit, she's outdone herself… even my upgrades look promising, though they're still being prepared at the moment."

"And to think this is just one of them… it'll be a brand new game this time around," Sing Love said. "How Stella will like these? I can't be the only one who thinks they're among our more… interesting toys."

 **And that is Chapter 2. Once again, leave a review if you have any opinions or questions on the story. And if you enjoy it, do fav and follow.**


	3. Chapter 3 Encounter and Meeting

_Before you read this chapter. I would to first declare once more, that not only did EternaCombOver's fic inspired this one. But it is also thanks to his editing, plot developing, that allowed this fic to come into fruition._

 **Chapter 3: Encounter and Meeting**

"Geez, this is an even bigger dump than that Draco wreck earlier," noted IBRS as she and Nana hopped off the latter's bike, facing the ruins of a military base. Either from the invasion years before, or the endless snow and lack of maintenance, the Moscow UEF Base now stands in shambles with most of its electronic equipment blasted or ripped from its circuits. As the two sisters ventured deeper inside however, they stumbled upon something that immediately caught their interest.

"Oh? That looks important," remarked Nana with a smirk as she as she and IBRS came across a massive container with the letters 'UEF' painted on the side. Before IBRS could ask anything, Nana approached it and entered a number sequence on the electronic lock which then showed the words 'Access Granted'. As the lock came undone, Nana opened the container's doors to reveal a massive number of weapons, tools and parts hanging on racks and its inner walls.

"Well, isn't that a little too convenient?" asked IBRS as she entered the container with Nana. "I mean, how'd you even know to get it open? Wait, don't tell me! This is what Stella meant by you being special, right?" she continued, watching as Nana hurriedly moved over to one of the racks. She followed suit, her eyes tracing out what appeared to be some kind of rifle that piqued her interest. But as the twin-tailed girl was about to grab the rifle off of the racks, Nana slapped her hand away with a slight frown. IBRS responded in kind with a frown of her own. "Oh, so you own all the toys now?" she asked.

"No, but the last thing I want is for you to destroy everything in this emergency cache. Now, find something we can use to transport all this to the trailer... Please," requested Nana as she started making a mental list of the parts and tools she needed to repair the trailer, as well as upgrade it with a few weapons. It took only a few minutes before Nana's shoulder was tapped. She turned around, half-expecting IBRS to have dragged a sheet of metal or something similarly crude back to her, but was more than surprised to see IBRS with a makeshift but sturdy-looking cart, complete with wheels. "Huh... and here I thought you were going to find a crate with a hole in it. You built this in such a short time?"

IBRS smirked. "Well, what can I say? Daughter's got to find ways to impress dear old Mother," she said. She then pointed to the cache with her metal claw-like glove. "So, which thingamajigs do we need to get that rusty black bucket working? Or should we just take all to be sure?"

As Nana and IBRS started filling the cart, IBRS started asking with a hint of curiosity "So remind me again... you were made to fight against Mother, right?"

Nana sighed as she placed a series of different-sized wrenches and screwdrivers into the cart followed with a pair of Gatling guns. "That was the official stance from the army and the reason why they even funded the Cloning Project. Pap-... Dr Gibson actually wanted to fix us, to ensure our memories won't deteriorate but the army sent us to combat Sing Love's invasion anyway. That is why, so many of my sisters died. Some not even remembering how to fight, how to wield a gun, to use a knife, to stop the bleeding. I even thought he never loved us, save for Stella," Nana explained.

IBRS simply nodded as she added a blowtorch and cases of ammo into the cart. "But dear Stella showed you otherwise, right?" she asked.

Nana made a small smile before answering "She showed me Papa's recording in my bear, telling me the true meaning of my name. My sisters may be gone, but now I know they can rest in peace now that they're with Papa. But even though I have Stella, Beast and... you, I still wish tha-"

"That dear old Mother wanted us for more than just her game, right?" IBRS finished with a glint in her eyes.

Nana fell silent for a bit, seemingly taken aback by her statement before finally sighing. "That was my hope, and I still do," she answered.

"Then keep hoping, because that's not happening," scoffed IBRS. "I mean, look at me. I was made to love fighting, but even then, that wasn't enough for her precious game. Got one thing right, but I wasn't perfect enough. So I got pushed aside. Same thing happened to Beast, and I bet the same thing would have happened to you," she continued as she causally tossed a piece of armor plating into the cart. "I bet she just chose Stella because she decided to settle on anyone who could give her a good fight."

Nana looked at IBRS and wanted to ask more, but as she watched IBRS quietly continuing with her work, she decided to leave it be. At least, for the time being.

A few hours later, IBRS and Nana arrived back at the ruins of the Draco with their bounty. As she removed the steel cables used to connect the cart with the bike, IBRS started pulling the cart to the trailer with Nana pushing it from behind while ensuring none of the contents drop out from the cart or were covered with snow. As soon as they arrived in front of their target, the pair began repairing and upgrading the damaged trailer.

"Let's hope we don't have to make another trip back to that messed-up joint, I can't stand this cold any longer," IBRS grumbled as she handed Nana a blowtorch.

Nana herself rolled her eyes as she ignited the blowtorch "Trust me, we won't need a second trip." By the time they were done, Nana said as she and IBRS took a few steps back to admire their shared work.

Aside from retaining its size, paint and engine, the trailer was now completely different from its original design. For starters, its entire outer hull now sported additional armor with the option of ejecting should the possibility of irreparable damage occur. Four twin-barreled turrets were attached to the trailer's roof with 360 degrees rotation with settings of either automated or manual control from the consoles within the vehicle's weapons room. A series of mini cameras was placed all over the Trailer's outer hull to provide defensive surveillance during the nights. A back-up engine was installed inside the cargo hold. Finally, they added a retractable ramp to the rear of trailer, primarily intended for Nana's bike.

"Think dear Stella and Beast will like this?" IBRS asked with a satisfied smirk.

Nana herself made an eager grin before answering "I'm very sure even Stella won't see this coming. After all, this vehicle here was where she woke up." After loading the former's bike inside, Nana and IBRS then entered the driver and passenger seats respectively before starting the engine up with the ignition switch. As the engine finally started up after its long winter slumber with a low roar, Nana happily activated the heating system before setting' the Trailer's wheels' to those that suit the snowy landscape. As the tires changed its designs to suit the environment, Nana pressed her boot on the pedal and changed the gears for the trailer to make its way out of the Draco ruins and to Nana's house.

"Finally, and I thought my hair would get icicles on it before we could get warm," IBRS sighed with a relaxed smile on her face, to which Nana shared the same smile in agreement.

* * *

The final parts of the broken Brunhild were set down in what remained of the living room, with Stella and Beast looking over everything they managed to salvage one last time. "There was no saving the engine… but at least we've got spare parts in case we need them," Stella commented. She looked over at Beast, who seemed to be lost in thought rather than paying attention to what was laid out before her. "… What's on your mind?" Stella asked, raising her voice to snap Beast back to reality.

"Just… curious," Beast said, blinking a few times before she turned to face Stella. "Stella… you… strong… right?"

"Well… yes," Stella said. She raised an eyebrow, watching Beast with a quizzical expression.

"How… strong?" Beast asked.

"… Very," Stella said. She turned to face Beast, giving the girl her full attention and doing her best to avoid furrowing her brow. "Why do you ask?"

"You… Mother's… true… daughter," Beast said. Stella seemed to take offense at those words, a fierce expression taking over her features for a moment. Every hair on Beast's body seemed to shoot up for a moment, and she almost felt as if Sing Love herself had become annoyed with her, a strange dread accompanying her uneasiness that could only be described as eerily familiar. Stella, noticing the sudden air of caution Beast took on, quickly calmed herself and forced a smile.

"I might be the clone she was most interested in," Stella said, trying to clear the air, "but that doesn't mean you, or IBRS, or Nana, are inferior in any way. You're my sisters, and all of you are special."

Beast watched Stella carefully, still unsure of the odd feeling she got just now, but nodded in response to her statement. "Thank… you…" Beast said. "Still… I… want… know… strength."

Stella sighed, realizing that Beast probably had one thing in mind given how she and IBRS had chosen to settle their problem when she met them. "How would I show you?" she asked, despite knowing what Beast's answer would be.

"We… fight?" Beast suggested. "Not… serious… but… test… ability."

"… Alright. Follow me," Stella said, turning towards what was left of the door. She left the house wordlessly, with Beast hurriedly grabbing her large claymore and following closely behind. Fighting wasn't Stella's idea of a good way to learn about her sisters, but considering their very limited scope of knowledge, she decided it was as good a start as any to learn about them.

Trudging through the snow until they could barely see the outline of the house, Stella and Beast stopped a good distance apart from one another, facing off with nothing but the barren wilderness around them. "Here will be fine," Stella said, crossing her arms as she watched Beast. "We can start whenever you're ready."

"No… weapons?" Beast asked with a curious tilt of her head. Stella shook her head.

"I'll let you make the first move," she said. "Don't hold back, alright? Since we're fighting like this, I want to know how strong you are too."

Beast nodded, hefting her claymore into position in front of her as she watched Stella simply await her attacks. Once again, every one of her senses shot off warnings in her head, all accompanied by a creeping sense of dread. She grit her teeth and tightened her grip on her weapon, the flame in her eye shooting up as a crown of blue flames formed around her head. "We… begin," Beast said. Stella nodded, and Beast bounded forwards.

Snow erupted behind Beast as she moved, the show of raw power and physical ability impressing Stella as the distance between the fighters was closed almost instantly. Regardless, Stella suddenly uncrossed her arms and slid to the right almost as quickly as Beast moved, a faint trail of blue flames following her feet as similar embers trailed out of her eye. A large impact sent snow flying through the air where she was standing mere moments before, but Stella could tell Beast's assault was just beginning. She drew her Black Blade from her waist and bent her knees, already prepared for Beast's second charge through the falling snow.

The speed and ease with which Stella dodged immediately told Beast relying on raw strength would fail her. On her second charge, she dug her feet into the snow and slid to a stop earlier, dragging her claymore through it with ease as blue flames began to line the edge of the blade. As she got in range of Stella, Beast delivered a massive swing. Stella stepped back, the massive weapon leaving a trail of flames near her. Beast's attack was much more controlled this time, however, as the girl let out a grunt and brought her blade back around, swinging low to create a wall of flames in front of her that prevented any possibility of Stella charging back in while forcing her back even further.

Hidden behind the wall of flames, Beast raised her large sword overhead and twirled it around once, the flames around her rising up into a pillar before they coated her blade completely. She let out another grunt as she slammed her sword down, the pillar of flame crashing down with it. A burst of mist borne of instantly vaporized snow trailed outwards from Beast's attack, the girl slowing her own breathing so she could hear any movement around her. The faintest sound of a sharpened object moving rapidly through the air caught her attention, and she turned around just in time to block an overhead slash from Stella's Black Blade, the small sword barely managing to move her large claymore.

"It's no wonder you two managed to destroy the house," Stella said as a flash of light consumed her left hand. Beast looked down just in time to see Stella aim her Rock Cannon underneath both of their weapons, the barrel glowing a bright blue. Beast leapt backwards, barely avoiding the point-blank shot as she regained her footing. "Burst Shot," Stella said, the light from her Rock Cannon showing through the smoke in front of her for a moment before a much more powerful blast shot straight through it.

Unable to move in time, Beast used the broadside of her sword as a shield. The attack detonated on its surface, throwing her off balance as it struck closer to her raised handle than the brunt of the blade. "IXA Blade," Stella said as Beast tried to regain her balance.

Beast's eyes widened as Stella appeared before her almost instantly, the flame in her eye flaring as she delivered an incredibly swift strike. Beast could only stagger back as Stella struck near the handle of her claymore with immense force, her strike sending the weapon flying through the air. Again, the same creeping sense of dread rose up in Beast, and her instincts kicked in immediately as Stella's image blurred in her mind. "You're powerful, but-" Stella began, but she fell silent when Beast suddenly lunged at her.

Stella barely had time to move aside before one of Beast's clawed gloves passed by her face. She brought her sword up, half-expecting a second slice before Beast dug her claw into the snow, propping herself up on one hand as the flame in her eye grew brighter, fire tracing along her body and focusing near her boots. She tried to kick Stella with their back, the flames seemingly solidifying into what looked like saw blades at her heel. As impressive as the feat was, it was nothing compared to the fact that the flames had enough force behind them to push Stella back as Beast completed her flip, practically snarling as she rushed forth on all fours in an attempt to flank her opponent.

The sudden shift in ferocity put Stella on guard, and she quickly spun around and began opening fire with her Rock Cannon, aiming low so that even if she failed to hit her target, the uneven terrain could slow her movement. Blue balls of energy rocketed out of the barrel into Beast's path, but the girl zigzagged between the shots with ease. As soon as Stella's barrage ended, Beast pivoted using one of her claws as a brace, rushing past Stella in the opposite direction before she could readjust her aim. By the time Stella realized where Beast had gone, she was forced to act.

Thrusting her Rock Cannon up as quickly as she could, Stella barely managed to stop Beast from crashing right on top of her. Beast crashed right on top of her Rock Cannon, screaming wildly as she began trying to claw over the large barrel, her glove's claws burning as flames focused at their tip. Deciding against an outright power struggle, Stella instead dashed backwards, letting Beast's momentum carry her before she spun around and slammed her Rock Cannon into the floor. The impact sent Beast tumbling away into the snow as Stella skid to a halt with a bit of assistance from her Black Blade, the weapon piercing the ground and slowing her even more as she hurriedly took aim at Beast once more.

Beast rolled back onto all fours and went on the move again, rushing away from Stella's quick volley before she managed to snag her sword up from nearby and continue on two feet, her blade dragging along the ground's surface. Stella stopped firing again, now breaking into a run that tried to match Beast's pace. The attempt quickly failed, Beast managing to arc towards her while maintaining a lead over Stella before she suddenly skid into a swift pivot, aiming at Stella before bounding forwards again.

With Beast's massive sword set to split her in half, Stella had no option but to leap into the air, letting Beast pass underneath her. In the midst of her maneuver, she managed to turn and fire off a few stray shots in Beast's general direction before landing. Beast herself had dug her sword into the ground and forced herself to a quick stop, Stella's attacks detonating around her. Amidst their explosions, Beast hurriedly drew her pistol and began firing wildly at the area in front of her, its shots seemingly empowered by the flames around her body as they appeared more akin to beams than bullets, each shot leaving a massive streak of embers behind and detonating into small pillars of flame as they struck the ground.

Stella kept her cool under fire, knowing that Beast's responsive shots had to be defensive in nature. Tracking the powerful bullets, Stella sheathed her Black Blade as energy began charging in her Rock Cannon, the flame in her eye smoldering as she waited for the smoke to clear. Once Beast had her pistol's seven rounds twice, she swung her massive claymore wildly with one hand, a burst of flames around her dispelling the lingering smoke and creating a clear path between her and Stella. At that moment, Stella leapt into the air and raised her Rock Cannon overhead, a serious look on her face before she took aim at Beast, who had only then managed to notice her in midair. "Photon Shower," Stella said.

Beast's eyes widened as Stella's Rock Cannon glowed an incredibly incandescent blue, the attack brighter than the daylight around them. Her mouth almost opened in awe, the sight of imposing white wings and a massive red orb of energy that cast a dark hue over everything around it suddenly taking over her vision. For a moment, she felt the same crushing weight press down on her, her fire extinguishing with her breath as if a heel was crushing her throat. She blinked, and in an instant, found herself back in reality. She grit her teeth and holstered her pistol, letting out a roar as blue flames made a massive aura around her sword.

A massive torrent of energy erupted from Stella's Rock Cannon, heading straight for Beast as she stomped forwards and swung her sword upwards, her weapon meeting Stella's attack head on. The clash of energies released a destructive shockwave around them, the very ground cracking under Beast's heel as she threw everything she had into her weapon.

Stella grit her teeth, focusing on her Rock Cannon as the two clashed. The force alone was enough to keep her airborne, but she soon noticed cracks in the ground growing larger and larger as they fought. "… This is too much," Stella muttered as she glanced towards the house, wind whipping against it and already having cleared the roof of snow. Her Rock Cannon suddenly released a massive hiss of steam, the attack ending then and there as the last bombardment of energy fizzled out.

Once the pressure of Stella's attack faltered, Beast gave one last push as she swung upwards, unleashing an eruption of blue flames parting what was left of her attack and heading right for where Stella was. She let out a heavy breath as she watched her flames arc through the sky before they died down, her own strength fading along with them as she dropped to one knee. She heard slow crunching in front of her, and gasped as she looked up to see Stella slowly walking forwards, her Rock Cannon showing clear signs of slowly cooling down after her last attack. "You… how…?" Beast asked as she forced herself up.

"I fell back to the ground," Stella said as her Rock Cannon vanished in a flash of light. "As I was saying before… you're powerful, but you use energy far too quickly. It's even worse because you seem to use your own energy, not a weapon's, for most of your attacks. The longer a battle goes on, the weaker you'll become, especially if this is how you always fight."

"Stella… said… don't… hold… back…" Beast said, readying her sword once more. She huffed, steadying the blade in her hands as she stared down Stella. "I… still… fight…"

"… Then you win," Stella said. Beast blinked, a look of confusion on her face. "I surrender… I don't want to fight anymore."

"You're no fun," Sing Love's voice said in Beast's mind.

"… No…" Beast said, staring at Stella. "No… please… no…"

"Huh? Oh… do you not know what 'surrender' means?" Stella asked as she tilted her head.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm bored now," Sing Love's voice continued.

"Fight… fight me…" Beast said, the flame in her eye starting to grow as her crown suddenly lost its form, becoming crooked and uneven.

"We might hurt each other if we continue, and I don't want that. We both know how strong the other is," Stella continued with a smile.

"You're really something, you know?"

"All you'll do is break something again. I don't want to deal with your messes anymore," Sing Love's voice said.

"No! No! No!" Beast suddenly yelled, bursting into tears the flames around her began to whip around violently. Stella instinctively backed away, the raging flames almost searing her clothes and skin. "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Beast!" Stella cried, hurriedly drawing her Black Blade. Her cry was answered by a mad wail from Beast, the girl practically flailing her sword around as she ran towards Stella. "If you won't stop, then-!"

Braving the dancing flames, Stella charged at Beast head-on, rushing in as a trail of her own flames followed her feet. Beast tried to slam her blade down on Stella, but she quickly sidestepped it and took a quick slice at her arm. She tore through the skin, but the wound practically cauterized itself as Beast tried to strike again. Ducking under the massive blade, Stella got a slice in at one of Beast's legs, only for Beast to claw at her cheek, leaving three burning scars along the side of her face as they traded blows.

Despite the wound, Stella continued on. Beast spun wildly, the flaming saws she could form on her feet returning as she went for a low sweep. Stella managed to hop over her leg and cut through a portion of Beast's abdomen with a sudden dash forwards, dropping the girl to one knee as the wounds weakened her already unstable balance. She had gotten around Beast's defenses, and readied her weapon for another strike.

Driven purely by instinct, Beast drew her pistol once more, only for Stella to slice through her forearm and force her hand open in response, the gun clattering to the floor. With a mad shriek, Beast rolled onto her side and went for a wild slice with the flaming saw blade on her leg, this time catching Stella's leg in the process and almost cutting through to the bone. Stella let out a grunt as she raised her left hand, light encompassing it as her Rock Cannon formed above her head. "This ends here!" Stella said as she dropped down. Beast could barely gasp as the massive hunk of metal descended on her.

A dull pain filled her head as she slowly tried to open her eyes. It felt rather comfortable, but she had no idea where she was. Blinking very slowly, Beast took in the sight of strange metal against a wooden framework seemingly on the wall, more confused than before. She blinked again, and realized she was staring at the parts she and Stella had gathered earlier from the one cushioned chair they managed to salvage, her head laying atop a different cushion. "Are you alright?" Stella asked, her voice coming from directly above her.

Beast turned her gaze upwards, and quickly realized she had been laying on Stella's lap. "… Stella… what..?" she asked, still feeling groggy. Stella simply ran her hand through her hair and smiled in response.

"… You remember that we got a little carried away with our spar, right?" Stella asked. Beast closed her eyes, seemingly gathering her thoughts before she let out a gasp.

"Stella…" Beast began, but her gaze faltered. She looked away from Stella, unable to face her now that she remembered what she did. What she thought. What consumed her when she fought.

"It's okay…" Stella said, still stroking her hair. "I don't know what happened to you before… but if you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen."

"Let's see what's wrong with you," Sing Love's voice dully echoed in Beast's mind. She gripped the chair's cushioning, her claws digging into it slightly.

"… But only if you're ready," Stella said, noticing Beast's apprehension. She looked down, realizing that her smile was ignored and her hair stroking did nothing for Beast's state of mind. "Do you want to be alone for a while?"

The words rang out in Beast's head, creating conflicting feelings within her. She couldn't bring herself to hate Stella. Yet when they fought, she couldn't see Stella. Not the same one that spoke to her. When they fought, she saw Stella as what she had envied. Stella was Sing Love's true daughter, and challenging her quickly turned envy into fear. What made it even worse was that when they fought, she felt the same thing from Stella that she felt from Sing Love. They weren't looking at her. They were looking at her power, testing and prodding to see if they were worthy. That sensation of being broken down for analysis even when they were mere inches apart. It gnawed at her in a way she couldn't describe, the feeling crushing her spirit every single time.

Reluctantly, Beast rose up and nodded, surprising Stella. "… Alone," she said, refusing to look at her.

Stella's smile shattered, but she refused to let anything other than concern show in her voice. "Okay. I'll be in the garage if you need me," Stella said, slowly getting up. She walked away, but glanced back one last time to see Beast slowly move to a corner of the chair, still unable to look at her. With a final nod, Stella left her alone, though her discomfort with the entire situation was obviously apparent from her expression once she knew Beast couldn't see her.

They remained parted for almost an hour before the sound of a large vehicle approaching got both of their attentions. Stella headed for the living room once more, though Beast had already headed outside. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts and refusing to let her discomfort show as she headed out after her.

Beast continued her march forwards, the steady rumbling of something approaching having caught her attention. She gripped her sword as it hung over her back, her eyes focusing on the strange black object that seemed to be slowing down as it neared her. "… It can't be," Stella said as she approached Beast, her eyes widening at the sight of the vehicle.

"… Know… this?" Beast asked, glancing over to Stella.

"This was the trailer I woke up in, the one I told you about… it belonged to the PSS," Stella said as the trailer turned slightly and pulled to a stop. A wide door near the front opened, revealing a rather smug IBRS.

"One really big transport, ready for duty," she said. "But you have to thank me before I can let you on. It was a pain getting this thing moving."

"They can do that after we load up any spare parts," Nana said, walking around the other side of the vehicle. She grinned as she saw what could only be a look of disbelief on Stella's face, the sight alone making the entire trip worth it. "There was a lot of useful stuff hidden in the ruins of the Draco and the UEF base in Moscow… we put it to good use."

"No kidding… I never thought I'd see this moving again," Stella said, walking over and running her hand along the side of the vehicle. "… I can't think of anything better for the four of us."

"… Yeesh, none of you are-" IBRS began as she stepped out of the trailer.

"Thank you, both of you," Stella said, cutting her off. She turned to IBRS with a warm smile, catching the purple-eyed girl off guard. "I hope this serves us as well as it served my friends."

"… Well, we made sure to fix it up really nice," IBRS said, regaining her composure. She grinned. "If you're happy, I'm happy."

"Stella, try not to listen to too much of what she says," Nana said, getting a chuckle from IBRS. "Beast, could you help us load the trailer too?"

"… Okay," Beast said, quickly following Nana back to the house. The four girls all took their part in loading the rather spacious cargo hold that took up the rear portion of the trailer, filling it with everything Stella and Beast managed to salvage while still leaving room for Nana's bike near the rear hatch. Once they had finished and Nana updated Stella and Beast on what happened while they were out, everyone finally took their seats in the vehicle.

Nana and Stella took the driver and passenger seat, respectively, while Beast and IBRS each took one of the seats closer to the cargo hold, neither of them comfortable with the side-facing seats between them and the front area. "The first thing we're doing is leaving Moscow," Nana said as she started the trailer. "With the house destroyed, there's nothing left for us here… and we aren't going to wait around so we can be buried in snow."

"… We can head south, and see what's going on elsewhere," Stella said. "This climate isn't the best one to stay in… and this place is even more dangerous if there was a battle nearby like you said."

"For now, we'll just try to get out of Russia," Nana said. "If we're lucky, we can find out what's happened… and who those people were."

As the trailer started to move, Nana and Stella fell silent, both keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. Further back, IBRS slumped forwards, looking bored out of her mind as the sun finally began to set. "What, did those two forget about us or something?" she asked. After a minute with no response, she shot Beast an annoyed glare, only to catch the girl staring at the floor without any hint of emotion showing. "Hey, not you too," IBRS said as she put a hand on Beast's shoulder, about to shake her.

The moment IBRS touched Beast, her hand was suddenly gripped by the girl's own after her sudden reaction, Beast turning on IBRS in an instant. "… Sorry," Beast said, realizing what had happened. She let go of IBRS' hand, but the purple-haired girl simply giggled.

"Did I pull you out of something fun?" IBRS asked, a devious smile on her face. "Reacting like that… what made you so jumpy? Is it something I can feel too?"

"… No," Beast said. "You… not… know… Stella..."

"Stella?" IBRS asked. "You're like that because of our little angel Stella? The one that didn't want us to fight and insisted even weak little Nana was special? What, did you suffer a case of heavy petting gone too far? It would explain a lot, and actually make this a whole lot more-"

"Mother," Beast said, giving IBRS a stern look. "Stella… Mother… same."

"… Stella is just like Mother?" IBRS asked. "Okay, now you've lost me… why would you think that docile little doll is the same as someone crazier than me? If she were like Mother, none of us would be around right now."

"… We… fight… earlier," Beast said. "Stella's… power… like Mother. She… looks… like Mother. She… fights… like Mother. She… speaks… like Mother. Heard… her… voice… when… Stella speaks."

"… So… you're saying Stella beat the crap out of you?" IBRS asked. Beast frowned as IBRS started snickering. "Oh, so that's what it was… you're just mad Stella beat you like Mother did, and you couldn't take it. Hah… you and your feelings are so entertaining sometimes."

"… You… horrible," Beast said as she clenched her fists. "Stella… scares… me."

"Was the beating that bad?" IBRS asked, smiling even wider as she leaned forwards to get a good look at Beast's face. "I mean, she did singlehandedly stop us from fighting… what were you expecting, taking her on alone like that? Remember, we couldn't be here unless Mother was beaten, and since Stella is awake with all that power… what do you think she did? Exactly what neither of us could… what Mother said we weren't even qualified to try, and then proved it by crushing us both. Knowing all of that… you thought it was a good idea to fight her? And I thought my name was 'Insane', ahahahaha!"

"… Watch…" Beast said, glaring at IBRS as she laughed. "… Stella… will… show. We are… still…"

Before Beast could finish her sentence, a loud series of beeps ran through the trailer, getting their attention. "Something moving… but it can't be Armamanets…" Stella said from the front. "They're moving too fast."

"… Vehicles, Stella," Nana said, the trailer beginning to accelerate. "We're about to meet the people fighting."

The trailer plowed through snow on an open field, leaving a large trail in its wake under the setting sun. Ominous clouds of snow dust began to converge behind it, circular rays of light piercing the cover like the eyes of predators fixated on lone prey.

"Didn't they just steal someone else's wheels?" IBRS asked as Nana put her foot down, the trailer picking up speed. "We went through all the trouble of fixing this one up, too…" she continued with a sigh.

"Enemies?" Beast asked, putting a hand on her sword. She glanced around the trailer, but IBRS shook her head.

"No, not in here. They're out there, and…" she began, but suddenly fell silent. A slight grin reached her face as she remembered something that could make this trip much more exciting.

"… How… fight… outside?" Beast asked, realizing that IBRS was thinking of a way to start fighting.

"You won't need to," Stella said, quickly looking over a few of the consoles in front of her. "There are turrets lining the top of the trailer, with gunner seats at the front of the cargo hold. You can each take one and shoot anything that comes near us, because whoever these guys are, they aren't coming at a friendly speed."

Beast looked confused at Stella's instructions and was about to ask a question, but IBRS put a hand over her mouth. "Roger that, Stella. We'll get rid of whatever's out there before they can take this too," IBRS said. "Or, before they can try, at least. I doubt they could beat us, especially with you here, so if you think about it-"

"I'm sure we could drive them off if they boarded, but we should avoid unnecessary damage to the trailer," Stella said, cutting her off. "We don't know how many parts we'll be able to find, and I'd rather not lose what we found so quickly. So please, keep them away. I'll join you shortly," she continued, apparently running through the trailer's onboard computer and what options it had available for assisted defense.

"Then we're off!" IBRS said, practically dragging Beast with her as she headed for the back. They marched right past the consoles that served as the mounted turret controls and headed for the back of the cargo hold. They reached Nana's bike, locked in place by small metal clamps on the sides that were attached to what looked like an elevated portion of the floor. "Okay, Beast… we're gonna go fight outside. Let's not listen to scary Stella and handle things our way, hmm?"

"… With… this?" Beast asked with a confused glance at Nana's bike. She gave IBRS the same confused look before asking "You… use?"

"Oh, I saw how it worked well enough. It didn't look too tough," IBRS said, readying her Cannon Lance onto her right arm before she got on the bike. "Hey, see that big red button over there? Hit it, and then run back here and hop on! If what the squeaky girl said was true, then this should be fun since we're already moving."

Beast did as instructed, hitting a red button on the wall before rushing back to hop on the bike behind IBRS, one hand on her claymore while the other rested on IBRS' shoulder. The sound of metal moving gave way to a cold wind, the back of the trailer opening up to reveal the snowy plain ahead and series of lights chasing after them. The ramp the bike was on slowly rose up, and IBRS grinned as she hit a button on the bike's handle, starting it up before she mimicked the strange revving Nana did before.

The console Stella sat at turned red, suddenly reading 'Hatch Open' as it interrupted her attempt at setting the turrets to auto-fire. Nana glanced over, and her eyes widened in horror as she realized what was going on. "They're going to wreck my bike!" Nana cried.

"If they go out there, we can't use auto-fire or it'll hit them too," Stella said, hurriedly making her way to the back. She burst through the door leading to the gunner seats and continued into the cargo hold, arriving just in time to see Nana's orange and black bike speed off of the elevated ramp with Beast and IBRS riding it, the vehicle swerving precariously as soon as it touched down before the hatch began to close. "Tch… what were they thinking?!" she grumbled, doubling back and taking the gunner seat that corresponded to the rear most turret.

Outside, IBRS barely managed to keep the bike going straight as she tried to aim with her Cannon Lance. "What, are you only allowed to ride or shoot?! Is doing both asking for too much?!" she complained as the yellow lights finally gave way to the shape of vehicles.

An armored pick-up truck approached them, a girl in heavy clothing riding in the rear bed behind what appeared to be a mounted gun.

"They let something out!" the girl yelled, turning the gun towards them. IBRS tracked her voice and began firing haphazardly, purple orbs flying out and exploding against the side of the truck with enough force to knock the vehicle onto its side.

The recoil of her shots would've tipped her bike over as well, but a last ditch swing of the handlebar made them accelerate her spin into a sudden U-turn, snow kicking up behind them as they ended up right next to a sleek and small tank, it's treads making travel across the snow a breeze. "It's a lone… no, a bike with two riders!" the tank's driver shouted, her face obscured by what appeared to be armored glass across the front. "I'll run them-" she continued, but she fell silent when Beast suddenly leapt onto her vehicle.

"In… there," Beast said as she rushed towards the armored glass at the front of the tank. The small cannon at the top of the tank turned to track her, but she made it on top of the glass much faster than it could turn. The driver let out a scream as Beast suddenly drew her claymore, flames erupting from her eye and forming her crown as the blade seemed to heat up. Before the tank could fire, Beast plunged her sword through the glass, the sound of it crunching followed by a shrill cry, ripping flesh, and something tearing as the tank fired. It immediately began to veer off course, but Beast simply ripped her blade out before rushing back to the side and leaping onto Nana's bike once more, IBRS having taken the chance to stabilize it as she drove. "… Next."

"Look who's back on their feet!" IBRS said with a glance back. She would have said more, but the sight of two more trucks with mounted guns ready to fire at them silenced her. Bullets whizzed by the duo as IBRS swerved, moving behind the trailer as Beast drew her pistol, flames flowing into the barrel as she took aim at their pursuers.

She would have fired if not for the sudden series of explosions to her left, almost throwing the bike off course as IBRS dug her Cannon Lance into the ground for temporary support. As she pulled her weapon back up and cleared the smoke, IBRS caught sight of what looked like a smaller version of their own trailer, the roof lined with heavily armored soldiers wielding rocket launchers at the front as lightly dressed girls in the back seemed to take care of reloading for them. On closer inspection, she realized the ones at the front were seemingly strapped in place from their waist down, and a devious idea crossed her mind as they prepared to fire again.

As Beast took out one of the truck behind them with a series of shots that burst into pillars of blue fire, IBRS turned and slammed the brakes, letting the second volley of rockets detonate in front of them before she aimed the back of her Cannon Lance towards the transport. A small harpoon-like anchor erupted from it, a long chain trailing after it as it dug into the back of the smaller trailer. "The other truck!" IBRS said as she stooped down and dug her Cannon Lance deep into the snow, a few bullets digging into her free hand and torso. Beast fired wildly over her head, emptying seven explosive shots in the direction of their attackers.

Three of Beast's shots caught the front of the trunk, the flames burning through the metal and superheating the engine. As the vehicle spun out and exploded, the chain on the strange harpoon-like anchor reached its limit. The small trailer that ignored the duo suddenly lost a decent chunk of its back, the vehicle spinning out and falling onto its side as it was torn apart. IBRS grinned, twisting her arm and recalling the anchor, its metallic edges thinning themselves into a large needle as it returned to the weapon. "Trailer… far…" Beast warned. IBRS scoffed, but took her warning as she hurriedly began driving back towards the large vehicle.

Stella saw the destruction IBRS and Beast were causing, but had no time to take it in. Girls on snowmobiles and armored bikes had gotten ahead of the pack, most armed with what seemed to be mounted guns similar to the ones on Stella's old bike. She had taken advantage of that knowledge, knowing there were only so many places they could line up a proper shot at high speed and focusing her shots there with a good success rate. She was about to aim at another bike approaching at high speed, but stopped when she noticed it was Beast and IBRS. "Nana, they're back with us!" Stella said as she turned her attention to a snowmobile that had tried to approach them. The turret atop the trailer unleashed a storm of bullets that easily disabled the vehicle, the riders tumbling into the snow as their craft spun out.

"Oh… so that's what they meant by 'turret'," IBRS said, glancing back at Stella's handiwork.

"Enemy!" Beast said, suddenly drawing her sword. IBRS looked to her other side just in time to see a bike fairly similar to their own bump into them, it's rider wielding a large black rod in their hand. As Beast tried to swing at them, the rider met her sword with the rod as it was coated in electricity.

As soon as their weapons made contact, Beast let out a cry of pain as electricity tore through her body, her metallic gauntlets doing little to stop the attack from affecting her. "That was dirty," IBRS said as she narrowed her eyes. The rider went brought the rod around for another strike, and she grinned. "But I fight dirtier!"

IBRS slammed her bike against the rider's, throwing them off balance before she drew her curved sword in a flash. With one swift motion, she took his hand clean off, blood spewing from the wound as a scream of anguish rang out. Beast had just managed to recover, and wasted no time slamming her claymore down on the wounded rider, splitting clean through them and wedging her blade into their bike itself, the vehicle moving with them. "… Throw," Beast said as she put both hands on her claymore.

"My thoughts exactly," IBRS said as she let off the gas and sheathed her sword, keeping in sight of the trailer but falling closer to the large vehicles at the rear of their pursuing forces. "Now, who looks like they… ah, there's a big one!" she continued, catching sight of what could only be described as some kind of snow plow with a reshaped front, now looking more like a spear made for breaking through something than a tray for clearing the area. "You see where the people are?"

"… Glass… break," Beast said, glancing back. IBRS sped up, getting a lead on the vehicle before she once again drove her Cannon Lance into the ground, pivoting the bike around as Beast flicked her sword in a wide arc, sending the remnants of the bike it dragged flying towards the vehicle. Two screams barely rang out before the bike crashed through the windshield, the vehicle suddenly turning before it slammed into an armored van, dragging it off course with it.

IBRS sped back towards the trailer once she finished her pivot, firing a few shots at the stray riders Stella seemed unable to hit and downing a few before a series of explosions went off behind her once more. "Didn't we kill you already?" IBRS asked with an annoyed look as she glanced back. Another small trailer with the same set-up as the last pursued them, along with what looked like a large van that had its doors altered to be platforms, girls kneeling down on them with large machine guns at the ready.

Before Beast could draw her pistol, bullets flew over both of their heads as the trailer's turret ripped the van apart with a series of direct hits, the girls on the sides bailing as the vehicle was about to flip over after a few shots struck the front tires. The stream of gunfire continued to the smaller trailer's top, a few of the girls at the back managing to climb down while the rocket launcher wielding girls could only fire off the last of their shots before bullets ripped their bodies apart, unable to move because of the straps that allowed them to wield heavy weaponry. IBRS whistled as Beast took pot shots at the new wave of approaching lights behind them, a few going out in bursts of blue flame. "Maybe Stella isn't as sweet and innocent as I thought… good," IBRS said.

"Nana, we're going to use too much resources if we take them all on… have you found a way out?" Stella asked.

"We're coming up on a ravine… it's a narrow pass that goes through a small mountain range," Nana said as she started to turn the trailer. "We can't lose them, but if we funnel them into one area, they'll be easier to deal with. If that's not enough, we can destroy parts of the mountain to block them off entirely."

"As long as those two can get back, I'm open to the possibility," Stella said, continually keeping away any bikers who tried to line up a good shot on the trailer.

* * *

On a hill overlooking the wide plain the chase took place in, a cloaked figure watched carefully as the trailer turned. "… If they're going in there, then… it looks like we'll have to try the other way," a woman's voice said. The cloaked figure held up their hand, revealing a large pistol she fired into the air, a flare shooting out of it. Soon after, numerous flares began to shoot out around the area of the chase all along the mountain, each one exploding into a shower of sparks in the air.

"… What… those?" Beast asked.

"Not our problem," IBRS said as she sliced through the rear wheel of a car that had been given a spiked grill, having just narrowly avoided a ram from the back as the vehicle seemed to unnaturally speed up while chasing them. "And if it's their problem, they should really be paying more attention to us!" she continued as the car spun out, leaving it open to a series of quick shots from her Cannon Lance that tore through its top and consumed all of its passengers in an explosion.

But as they entered the narrow pass with several mountains gradually coming into view, all four sisters were too occupied with their pursuers that they failed to noticed the large amounts of snow and dust accompanied with several yellow lights gradually getting smaller and smaller, until there were none at all. As the skies gradually darkens, only a few bikes, tanks as well as trucks could be seen pursuing the sisters as they were in a very close proximity with said sisters.

"They just won't give up, will they? Sorry, but we have no time for small fry!" IBRS proudly announced as she eagerly skewered the closest bike to her left with her Rock Lance cannon, impaling the rider and her partner to the controls before it exploded. As IBRS waved it slightly to wipe off the black blood on the blade, she started to laugh "Ahahahaha! It's been waaay too long since I've had this much fun! Don't you agr-"

"Trailer!" Beast yelled, trying to get IBRS attention. Before she could say more, she parried another biker's chainsaw with her Claymore, the rider seemingly coming out of nowhere as it slowed down to meet them. Pushing them back with her brute strength, she put some distance between their vehicles before slicing cleanly through the rider and their bike. Yellow lights illuminated the bloodied rider's corpse, but that only prompted Beast to focus her blue flames around her sword that set the bike ablaze. With one quick-thrashing motion, Beast launched the bike backwards, the burning vehicle splitting in half and crashing against whatever's lights were cast upon them.

As their pursuers seemed to pull back after Beast's attack, IBRS finally shifted her attention the trailer, catching sight of a large truck pulling up next to it. The top was lined with girls wielding saw-like weapons that each began to carefully eye atop the trailer, their intention clear to IBRS as she sped forwards to stop them. But as the truck got close enough for the first of the girls to try and make the leap, three of the Gatling gun turrets turned towards the girls and opened fire, bullets shredding them as they were caught unaware. Only those near the back managed to evade the shots by ducking, the truck hurriedly pulling back as the vehicle itself suffered heavy damage.

But before IBRS and Beast could do anything to assist Stella and Nana, two more bikes surrounded the orange and black bike. Just as the sisters were about to use their Rock Cannon Lance or Claymore, one of the the riders' partners takes out a sickle while the other aims her SMG at the the black and orange bike. Both IBRS and Beast nodded to another as the former glared at the bikes about to attack them before announcing "Fine them bring it on!"

"Dammit, they're going to drive us against the walls at this rate!" Nana said with a glare as she shifted the gears to allow the maximum acceleration. Stella however, was too focused on manning the turrets to even recommend any solutions. But when they thought things couldn't get any worse, the tanks began turning their harpoon cannons to the rear door of the Trailer. Even as the trailer gradually gained speed, the tanks' cannons were likely reach and penetrate the rear door before the trailer could even get out of range.

But before the harpoons were fired, a massive fireball came crashing down onto the tanks, completely vaporizing them and their crews. All vehicles soon came to a halt as a massive dragon landed in front of them with its wings stretched out, barring everyone's path. The Dragon was extremely tall with yellow eyes, black scales and wings. What was even more surprising was that a girl appears to be standing on top of the Dragon's head, holding the chains on its neck and triple horned head.

The girl herself possessed yellow pupils and long black hair that is slightly past her shoulders. Despite the darkness, a metal gauntlet can be seen on her right arm, wielding a large twin-bladed, two-handed broadsword with a small cross-guard.

"Woah, I so did not see that coming," IBRS admitted with her mouth agape. Beast could only make a slight nod in agreement. Even Nana was stunned but Stella decided to take action while everyone was distracted. With a flick of a switch, the turrets of the trailer sniped the remaining bikers. The sudden move snapped both IBRS and Beast back into reality as they then fired both their Rock Lance Cannon and Seven Shots at an armored truck. The barrage of firepower soon caused the truck to go ablaze, with the occupants tearing their way out of their vehicle.

But before any could escape, the sword-wielder snapped her fingers and the Dragon used its massive clawed hand to grab the truck. Unfazed by the burning vehicle, the Dragon proceeded to lift the truck up high and shake it repeatedly,resulting to all the girls in the truck falling straight into the Dragon's mouth. The Dragon then proceeded to snap its mouth shut before crushing the truck into scrap metal.

As Nana and Stella got out of the trailer, IBRS and Beast proceeded to parking the bike inside the trailer once more after Stella reopened the rear door. Once that was finished, the sisters watched as the Dragon-Riding girl petted the Dragon's head, resulting to the creature lowering its head to the ground for its rider to safely dismount. Upon closer inspection, the sword-wielder's attire consisted of a lace top under a bolero jacket, the former having a white strap crossed together as detail. She also appeared to be wearing a torn skirt revealing parts of a lace petticoat with a belt attached to the waist. She then made a curtsy and a warm smile before greeting them "I take it that everyone here hasn't suffered any injuries? Oh where are my manners, I am Dragon Slayer. I hope you didn't mind my little interference with your debacle?"

Stella quickly shook her head before answering "Of course not, we are grateful for the assist. My name is Ste- I mean...Black Rock Shooter. And these are my sisters IBRS, Black Rock Beast and-"

"Gray, Gray Sniper Seven. Just like Black Rock Shooter here, I too am grateful for your help," Nana said with a smile as she offered her hand to Dragon Slayer. The dragon's owner blinked her eyes once before happily accepting the handshake.

As soon as they ended the handshake, Dragon Slayer drove her sword into the ground before asking "So what are you girls doing out here anyway?"

"Well, we can say the same for you. What's a girl like you with an awesome pet like that doing here?" Asked IBRS with a half-grin on her face. Sure she felt something was off, but IBRS was paying more attention to the Dragon in front of her. In all her wildest dreams, never did she expect to see such a beast. Especially since she can tell that that Dragon, is worth killing.

But Dragon Slayer simply clapped her hands. The Dragon suddenly flew up into the air, revealing a crossroad in the pass leading to a nearby tunnel network "How about I show you rather than just explaining myself?"

Stella made a nod to her sister as she approached Dragon Slayer a small but sincere smile "It will be our pleasure." she said as Stella and her sisters followed Dragon Slayer and her Dragon with their trailer.

What they saw took their breaths away, for inside the massive tunnel network was a massive convoy of vehicles. From what Stella could tell, at least a hundred was in the cave. They ranged from armored jeeps and heavy transport trucks, to even mounts like smaller dragons, horse-drawn carriages and giant scorpions the size of a bus with what appears to be make-shift cockpits on their backs.

The biggest surprise of the convoy was a huge tank in the shape of a tortoise shell, with its size equal to Dragon Slayer's Dragon mount. "I am actually the caretaker of this convoy of merchants and the leader of this bodyguard troop. It just so happens that the path you were on is connected to this place. This place is also linked to a highway that leads to the convoy's destination: a town which the merchants here hired us to guide them to," She then walked closer to the sisters until she was right in front of their faces before continuing "That reminds me, you haven't answered my previous question."

IBRS made a half-grin before answering "Ain't it obvious? Those crazies wanted our sweet wheels and the toys in it."

Dragon Slayer took a glance at the aforementioned trailer before giving it a shrug as she said "Fair enough, feel free to have a look around while we're still refueling the vehicles and feeding the mounts."

As the sisters were busy admiring the convoy, they failed to notice Dragon Slayer's mount flying up to one of the rock cliffs and opening its mouth. Soon enough, all the girls from the truck that was laid to waste came out of the Dragon's mouth and got into a pack of empty vehicles before slowly driving off.

As she saw her pet giving her a nod from above, Dragon Slayer made a smirk before changing to a gentle smile as she approached the sisters "Since we're going the same way, how about the four of you join us in our short journey?"

"I'm in, so long as I get to stick by that big fella of yours!" IBRS said with a grin

Beast simply nodded before answering "Safety... in numbers."

Nana made a shrug before saying "If you're willing to put up with us."

Stella nodded and flashed a wide smile "We're looking forward to your company Dragon Slayer."


End file.
